Silent Judgement
by Snoecat
Summary: Book 1 of SJ Series! Serena runs away, but a new threat is building in New Tokyo and she is forced to return to save her friends and the world once again... but can she? MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY
1. Prologue

**Silent Judgment**

By Cat Snoetygre aka Snoecat

_AN: This version can be viewed on my website, while the rewritten version can only be viewed on my site. Questions or comments can be put in a review or written to me via email (there are links on my site if you wish to write me personally). I will post a site link on my profile once I finish the rewrites, which are taking longer than I had originally thought, due to research of various items, and character building.__ Please read and review. _

_Warning: Profane language, some sexual stuff, a brain fart, and bad writing. All the stuff we read these stories for. Anyway, enjoy and review. Thanks._

* * *

Prologue

* * *

Serena gazed out over the courtyard of the crystal palace with a sense of triumph and a shiver of fear. She knew that she had just passed some sort of galactic test by reawakening the earth and building crystal Tokyo. But she knew that there was more to come. 

More to come…

Will it ever end? She asked herself silently, even though she already knew the answer. No, it won't. As long as there is good, there will be the balance of evil. She sighed softly as she walked onto her balcony and braced herself against the railing. "As long as I am around evil will find me," she muttered. "I just want a normal life," she turned her back to the view and leaned against the railing as she looked into her room. "I never wanted to be Sailor Moon. I never wanted to be Princess of New Tokyo. But I know that if the others and I hadn't been here, the world would have come to an end with Queen Beryl." She swept a hand through one of her pigtails, irritably. "But why me? Why am I Sailor Moon?"

"Still going on about that, are you?" A familiar voice asked haughtily, causing Serena to jump, startled. A quick look around told her who had interrupted her thoughts. A black cat, with a small golden mark in the shape of a crescent moon on her forehead, sat languidly inside the room, peering at her with large brown eyes.

"What do you want, Luna?" Serena asked, with a slight frown. The cat rolled its eyes in exasperation, after looking Serena over.

"Are you going to meet the delegates dressed like that?" The cat asked in disbelief.

Serena looked down at herself, more than slightly confused. Then she remembered what the cat was talking about. Since Serena had saved the world, again, and had fully revealed her and the others to the eyes of the public, Darien and herself were swept into power. They were named Prince and Princess of Tokyo, and their wedding was in the works, dated for three months in the future. Darien had stepped into his role perfectly, and made a wonderful prince, but she, on the other hand, had not.

Darien and the other Sailor Scouts had decided to use his and Serena's new power to affect peace throughout the world and so had made arrangements with the delegates of other countries to have meetings so they could discuss peace. The meetings were to take place over a period of several months, and were believed to last around five years before ending in true peace. During the times of the assemblies, Serena was to act the princess, hostess the ambassadors' stay, and show them around New Tokyo, while Darien hosted the peace talks himself. Serena hadn't seen much of Darien, or the others, since the plans and preparations were started.

Not that she had been left entirely with free time. Luna, her cat advisor, had taken it upon herself to make sure that Serena became the Novel Princess. So Serena's days were filled with classes ranging from history and math, to how she was to dress, eat, talk, and walk. Even though she had started learning those things when she found out she was Princess of the Moon, she wasn't doing as well as she and the others had expected, and often would make complete disasters out of everything. It seemed that the harder Luna tried to make her a princess, the worse Serena became.

Luna cleared her throat, dragging Serena from her thoughts. "Are you done daydreaming? The emissaries will be here any moment, and you are dressed like this is still Old Tokyo and you are still in school."

Serena glanced down at her jeans, knowing that people still dressed in the same manner as they had before she rescued them from their sleep, but decided not to argue the point. After all, Luna would never say she was wrong. She thought, rolling her eyes. Luna looked about ready to explode. "Ok, I'm changing." She said quickly, as she walked into her room and pulled the cord that would summon the girl, who had labeled herself 'Princess Serena's Maid.'

After the woman appeared, Serena changed quickly. The woman, under Luna's guidance, changed Serena's golden pigtails into a writhing mass of curls, knotted atop her head, and arranged so that the long masses would cascade down her pack in an alluring way.

An hour later, the woman declared herself finished and lead Serena to a mirror so that she could judge the woman's work. What Serena saw reflected back at her, should have made her confident about her abilities, but instead it made her more afraid to mess up. She looked like a princess. A light crystalline blue ball gown, from one of the historical romance novels, graced her body. It hung lightly off her shoulders, and dipped into a slight v-shape over her chest, then swept freely from below her breasts to the floor in shimmering folds. The way her hair had been arranged almost made it look like she was surrounded by a golden halo and the effect, combined with the gown she wore, was stunning.

She murmured her approval to the maid, then quickly swept from her room, now aware of how late she was. At the top of the Grand Staircase, she paused, clutching her hands together in front of her, before she made her slow progress down the stairs, carefully stepping down each step and making eye contact with everyone in the Entrance Hall. For once, let the classes have paid off. she hoped vehemently.

Just as she started to think that she had finally accomplished what Luna had been feverishly trying to teach her, her foot caught on the hem of her gown, causing her to trip and stumble down the last few steps to the floor. She managed to catch the barrister before falling on her face, but the damage had been done. She could almost feel the waves of disapproval from everyone in the room, even before she saw it in their faces when she looked up. Her face grew hot with embarrassment.

* * *

By the end of the first meeting, Serena had made a complete fool of herself and felt worse than she had ever felt before. After about an hour of her antics, Darien and the other Sailor Scouts had taken to ignoring her completely because of embarrassment, and after another hour, Serena was able to slip away without anyone noticing. 

Serena sat on her bed and stared out the French windows that lead to the balcony. The curtains billowed gently in the slight evening breeze, but she took no notice. Her thoughts were solely on the horrific embarrassment of her behavior, earlier that evening. She wanted to cry, but couldn't seem to find the tears to do so.

She knew that she had let the others down badly. Luna hadn't even shown up after the dinner guests had gone to bed to reprimand her thoughtlessness, and that meant that Serena had done some serious damage to the peace talks without meaning to.

Before Serena could think herself out of it, she grabbed a bag and started throwing items into it. She paused over her moon wand, then threw it in anyway, just in case she might need it. It would serve as a reminder of the life she was now abandoning.

She had never wanted to be Sailor Moon. She defiantly didn't want to be a Princess. But she knew that no matter if she was a super hero, or the princess of a blooming world, she would always let people down, and she just couldn't deal with that anymore. It hurt too badly. She couldn't be what everyone else wanted her to be. She couldn't be the worlds most famous Super Hero, or the Perfect Princess that lurked in storybooks.

She made her way out of the Palace and vanished into the streets of New Tokyo as the sun broke the horizon.

* * *

Luna and Darien sat in the breakfast chamber, early the next morning, discussing possible strategies to repair the damage that Serena had unknowingly caused the night before, when Mina and Artemis burst into the room. 

Mina panted, trying to catch her breath, and looked pale. Darien stood, a sense of dread washing over him. What has she done now? he asked himself, thinking of Serena's klutziness the night before. Artemis seemed to regain his senses before Mina did.

"Serena is gone!" He stated, his voice carrying fear and worry, which echoed ominously in the room. Darien felt his heart stop. He knew that if Luna had been human, she would have fainted at worst, or paled very deeply at the least. Instead, she stared at Artemis as if he had spoken a completely different language.

"Have you searched the grounds?" He asked Artemis. Raye, Amy, and Lita all charged into the room, also looking frantic and pale. Darien felt cold. He knew that they had just searched the entire palace proper and had seen nothing of Serena.

"Some of her clothes are missing, as well as her wand." Lita told him quickly.

"I think she ran away." Raye stated angrily, looking at the others.

"Serena wouldn't leave us, Raye." Lita snapped back, instantly.

"She would if she thought she was nothing but a disgrace to us. If she felt that no matter what she did, or how hard she tried, we did nothing but condemn her." Amy stated bluntly. Her eyes shined as if she were holding back tears.

"She IS a disappointment, Amy." Raye ground out from between clenched teeth. "Last night, she messed up, and instead of trying to correct the problem, she decided to act all childish by running away because she couldn't handle it."

"We were too hard on her," Luna said quietly from behind Darien.

"She thinks we hate her." Said Mina, looking stricken at the thought.

"She wouldn't just leave us, you guys, and she's too loyal." Lita growled defiantly.

"Loyalty can only be stretched so far. We haven't ever really hidden our disappointment in her, and we never congratulated her when she did something right." Amy told her.

"Was there any note?" Darien asked, trying to think.

"No." All four girls said simultaneously. The thought calmed Darien. He knew Serena.

"She probably went to her mother's, to take a break." He stated, sitting back down. "I hate to admit it, but it was a good idea, during that time, we can correct the problems she caused, and maybe she will be better when she gets back."

The others looked relieved.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

* * *

Serena sat heavily into a small-overstuffed chair in her apartment. She was tired and hungry, but she didn't want to stand on her feet again.

She had done it.

After almost two years, she had managed to nab a great job, get her own apartment, and make friends who accepted her for who she was. She felt great. She dressed how she wanted to, ate what she wanted, even did the things she wanted without Luna yelling at her, or the scouts looking disappointed. She lead a normal life, had gossip sessions, ate unhealthy food, hated her boss, got angry at her friends, and even had a cat that didn't have the nasty habit of talking back, which was a relief in its own way. She sometimes missed the others, but all in all, she was happier than she had been since she had found out that she was a super-hero.

After she had left Japan, it seemed like her life would only get worse. She had nowhere to go, and she didn't know anyone, either, but she didn't give up. She worked hard to get a job in America, under an alias, of course. She had gotten a small apartment shortly afterwards, and had progressed to an even larger apartment, and got some things she had always wanted, that Luna would never have allowed. She had an entire wall of manga, which Luna would have had a fit over, but that Serena was proud of.

Sometimes, she thought about writing the others, but knew that they would find her if she did. And she was proud of her life as it was. It wasn't glamorous like being a princess had been, but she had earned it, without the help of the others, and for that alone she was proud of it.

She stood and looked into the mirror. She looked different than she had when she had been the Princess of Tokyo. The baby fat that she had once carried was gone. Her face had matured. She had high cheekbones, pale skin, and the freckles on her nose and cheeks had finally vanished. Her eyes and nose were still the same. She was taller than she had been; she had had her final growth spurt and stood at five feet eight inches. Her figure had developed more fully, it wasn't shaped like a slightly curvy board as it had been, but now there were definite curves. She was still thin, too thin to ever have a true hourglass figure but she thought she looked good. She had cut her hair shortly before leaving for the United States, which ended up being a blessing because about two weeks later the commercials, flyers, and bulletins had started announcing the disappearance of the worlds most famous princess. Her hair now hung in a graceful cascade of gold down her back to end at her waist.

Serena wondered, at first, if it had taken them that long to find out she was missing, but had finally decided she didn't care. They were furiously looking for her, the reward for her return or knowledge of her whereabouts was climbing to steep amounts by the Japanese government. The whole world seemed to be waiting for her to return with baited breath.

Serena had a strong feeling that some of her new friends had looked at her and wondered whether she was the princess, given her 'uncanny resemblance,' but they never figured out that she really was the princess. She had even worked hard to lose the gracelessness of her past, and while she was still clumsy, she was nowhere close to being as awkward as she had been. Mostly, she knew, they daydreamed that they would be the ones to find the princess and get the reward money. Everyone seemed to want the reward.

There had even been fake Serena's taken to the Crystal Palace, only to be thrown out in disgrace. 'Serena Sightings' were so popular that they far outnumbered the old 'Elvis Sightings' of the past. At first, when the sightings became popular, Serena laughed at the stupidity of the people who were trying to get noticed, but she ended up taking it as an insult as time went on. Finally, she had given up listening to the news reports about her altogether. And they were becoming more rare as time passed.

The doorbell rang, bringing her out of her reverie, and she quickly went to the door. A glance through the eyehole announced the arrival of a close friend. She threw the door open, and hugged her friend. The girl that entered Serena's apartment reminded Serena of Molly. The differences were innumerable, but the effect was still there. She had short permed black hair instead of the bright orange that was Molly's, black eyes to Molly's green ones, and tanned skin compared to Molly's milky white. Serena suppressed a pang of sorrow at the memory of Molly, and smiled warmly at the girl in front of her.

"Hey, Lily. I thought you would have been here an hour ago, what took so long?" Serena asked moving aside to let the girl enter. The girl frowned at her.

"You haven't heard?" She asked, perching on the chair that Serena had just vacated.

"Heard what?" Serena inquired as she closed the door. "Want something to drink?

"Sure." The other girl replied. Serena went into her tiny kitchen and grabbed two cans of soda from the fridge. She handed one to Lily then sat on another chair.

"So what's going on?" Serena asked her, opening her can and taking a swig of the caffeinated drink.

"Well, I'm late because they had a big bulletin on the news." Lily stated leaning back in the chair and sipping her soda thoughtfully. "It seems that peace talks in Japan have been suspended indefinitely." She paused, and Serena frowned. "Someone is attacking the representatives from the other countries, and their governments are worried about loosing people so they wont send anyone as replacements." She shook her head. "Seven reps have been attacked, all are comatose in the New Tokyo General Hospital. The doctors said that they were extremely low on blood."

"Wow. That's really strange." Serena said thinking quickly.

"Yeah, well the worst part is that Prince Darien was attacked and almost killed three nights ago. He's sharing the same symptoms of the other reps."

"W-what?" Serena asked, her heart stopping.

Lily took Serena's worried face as one of interest and went on, "Yeah, he's in critical condition in the hospital. Japan says that they have Special Forces working on it. The four bodyguards of the Prince were also attacked, but they aren't as bad off as the Prince is. Course, I don't think that they are really his bodyguards."

Serena disregarded the comment, "What else has happened? Anything else of interest? Any suspects?"

"No one has seen the attacker. Or at least the ones that got a good look are in comas. And they upped the reward on the missing princess again. I'm surprised that they think she's still alive." Lily said casually. Serena nodded, not really listening. Darien is in trouble, and the Scouts have been attacked. She thought.

"Are the bodyguards in comas, too?"

"No. But they didn't see the attacker. They were banged up really bad, and told the reporter that they needed the Princess back, now that the Prince is unconscious." Serena nodded. They wanted Sailor Moon, not the princess. She told herself.

Serena changed the subject, her mind on the attacks, and they spent two hours talking about Serena's boss, actually verbally bashing Serena's boss, and other things of interest, though Serena silently urged Lily to hurry, so that she could think.

When the girl left, Serena went to her bedroom and dug a box out of the bottom of her closet. She set it on the edge of her bed and opened it. On top of the clothes that she had taken with her from the palace sat a long rectangular box, which she picked up. After she opened it, she sat on her bed, staring at the Moon Wand. Memories flooded her mind. The memory of the last night she had spent in the Crystal Palace hung vividly in the middle of all the other memories.

If she went back, they would stop her from returning to the life that she had so carefully built around herself. If she didn't…

Somehow Serena knew that what was happening in New Tokyo wasn't likely to go away just because she wanted it to. She shoved the wand back into the box and put it inside a drawer in her nightstand. Then she grabbed the box on the foot of her bed and put it back into the closet.

She climbed into bed and stayed awake throughout the night.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

* * *

Several days later, Serena stood at the gate to her parents' house and stared at it. Heavy metal thudded from one of the upstairs rooms. But otherwise, it was silent.

She had quit her job, grabbed her cat, her clothes and her favorite possessions, gave her apartment to Lily and came back to New Tokyo. Lily didn't know that Serena wasn't going to be back, she thought she was apartment sitting while Serena took a week vacation. She would figure it out though.

Even though Serena had hated her previous life, she loved Darien more than anything. That realization had gotten her to Japan and into a cab to her parents home.

But Serena couldn't get herself to call out to have someone let her in, she knew that her family would have a wonderful time bashing her for her lack of grace two years previously. She was a coward, and she knew it. She had disrespected her family, her friends, and her betrothed, and caused them needless worry. But she couldn't seem to face it. She didn't want them to scream at her as they had done in her past. She couldn't deal with it any more at that moment, than she did in the past.

So, Serena stood at the gate staring at her old house for what seemed like hours.

It was getting dark when the front door opened. Before Serena could dodge behind the brick wall that surrounded the house, Amy, Lita, Mina, and Raye filed slowly from the house, talking loudly. All of them bore evidence of fights, bandages, half healed scrapes, and purplish bruises littered their bodies. Lita's arm was in a cast that was neon green.

As soon as they saw her, they froze. Serena felt like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck and couldn't seem to jump out of the way before it hit her. The five of them stood staring at each other, almost unbelievingly.

Then Serena's mother, Ikuko appeared in the doorway and with a slight scream, fainted dead on the spot. Serena rushed through the gate to her mother's prone form.

"Mom!" She cried dropping to her knees next to her mother. "Mom, are you ok?" She asked loudly as she patted her mother's cheeks. A loud noise in the house caused Serena to look up into her father's white face. "Hi, Dad." She said shakily, trying to stop herself from breaking into tears.

"Serena?" He gasped, staring at her. He took his glasses off and rubbed them vigorously.

Amy bent down beside Serena and touched her arm tentatively, as if checking to make sure that Serena being there wasn't an illusion. Serena gave Amy a small glance but kept her attention on her father. This wasn't how she had wanted to meet the Scouts, and she defiantly hadn't envisioned her mother collapsing when she talked to her parents.

A plaintive meow came from the carrier at the gates, and Serena stood. "I'm really sorry." She said to everyone in general, then turned walked silently to the gate, blinking back tears. She picked up the cat carrier and grabbed her luggage.

Halfway down the street, Raye came running after her. "That's it?" She asked, icily, when she caught up. "You cause your mother to faint, then walk away, again?"

"No, Raye. That's not it." Serena said, without looking at her.

"What happened to you? We were all worried? Where were you?" Raye's voice rose with every word until she was shouting. Serena didn't say anything, but kept walking, her head held high. Raye stopped. Serena could feel her brown eyes boring into her back. "Wait, Serena." She called after a moment.

Serena stopped, but didn't put her stuff down. She glanced over her shoulder at Raye and frowned.

"Come back. We really need you. We thought we could handle it. But we were wrong." Raye said so quietly that Serena almost didn't hear it. Serena stared at Raye in complete shock.

"What?" She asked, her disbelief evident. But Raye was back to her old self.

"You heard me. Now your mom should be awake now, lets go see her." She turned and marched back to the gate of the Tsukino house and disappeared inside. Serena stared after her feeling vaguely confused. This was defiantly not the way she had pictured her homecoming. Most of it had to do with condemning her to hell, but the shock of what Raye had said got her to go back to the gate and carry her stuff up to the front porch, where her mother was sitting, looking like she had seen a ghost.

"Serena?" Her mom asked, as her father turned and looked at her from where he kneeled next to where Ikuko was sitting. Serena nodded. "What did you do to your hair?" She asked, a plaintive note in her voice. Serena smiled slowly, wondering whether she was going to be yelled at.

Her father turned away from her and whispered something to her mother before he stood and went into the house, slamming the door behind him. Serena flinched, and looked around. Mina looked like she had been hit in the stomach, Lita looked like she was a statue, staring blankly at Serena, Amy looked confused, like she didn't know what she was going to do, and Raye impatiently tapped her foot. They all looked different, they had grown over the last two years.

All of them had shadows under their eyes. All of them looked like they had been through their final growth spurt. Lita was still the tallest and looked to be about six foot. Raye was right behind her standing around five feet ten inches. Mina was the same height as Serena. And Amy was the shortest, standing just over five feet tall. That was a change, since Serena had always been the shortest. They all had matured in the face and body as well. While they all had the curves that came with womanhood, Raye was the only one with an Hourglass figure.

Serena caught herself eyeing Raye speculatively, wondering if Darien had turned to her while Serena was gone. She couldn't blame him if he had, but she couldn't stop the snake of jealousy twisting itself in her stomach. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to come back after all, Serena thought bitterly, imagining Raye leaning over Darien's hospital bed, quietly crying and whispering his name.

Serena shook herself mentally, and sighed.

"You're father was worried about you, dear." Ikuko said softly, "you shouldn't let him bother you, he'll get over it." She had mistaken Serena's sigh to mean she was worried about her father, instead of trying not to be jealous of Raye. Serena nodded, however, and smiled softly.

"I really am sorry, mom. I wish I hadn't left. But I couldn't deal." Serena told Ikuko, and was surprised when no one said anything. She felt everyone's eyes on her and looked down at the ground. "I'm not the perfect Princess. I don't want to be a Princess. I just wish everyone would accept that."

"Are you going to leave again?" Serena's mom asked in a quavering voice. Serena couldn't look at her, but decided to tell the truth.

"I don't know."

"Then what was the point of coming back, if you are just going to leave us again?" Lita asked, resentment deep in her voice. Serena knew that they couldn't and probably wouldn't trust her again, not after she had vanished for so long, but hearing the cold anger in one of her best friend's voice shocked her.

"I came to help." Serena stated, forcing her voice to stay neutral. "What I do afterwards is my business." She added. She knew that they were disappointed again, but couldn't help feeling that it was their fault in the first place. If they had all just accepted her as she was, she would have never left. What they wanted, she didn't think she could ever be. She was a flaky weak spirited leader, and she doubted that would ever change.

Suddenly, she was enveloped in her mother's arms. "I love you, honey." Ikuko mumbled into Serena's hair. "I want you to know that." Serena couldn't help it when her arms snaked around her mothers back. All the feelings of longing and sadness poured out and she began to cry.

No one said anything. But Serena felt other arms wrap around her and her mother. Other people were talking, but she didn't hear what they said.

"You should see Prince Darien." Ikuko finally said, when they had broken apart and Serena had stopped crying. Serena nodded.

"Can I leave Cammie here?" Serena asked, waving her hand at the cat carrier, where her cat cried feebly in its depths. Ikuko picked up the cage and looked inside. Her eyes widened and she looked at Serena.

"Of course, she's probably starving."

"Yeah, I forgot to feed her when we got off the plane." Serena said absently. Her mother's eyebrows went into her hairline. Realizing what she had said, she felt that she had given too much information and quickly added, "can you give her something to eat? I will be back as soon as possible."

Ikuko nodded, looked into the cage, and opened the door.

"I wonder what Luna will do when she finds out you got another cat, Serena." Mina said, staring at the furry shape that Ikuko pulled out of the cage. Serena cringed inwardly. That was something else she hadn't thought about when she had approached her mother's house.

Guess I'll deal with that when the time comes. Serena thought.

Serena had to deal with Luna sooner than she had expected.

* * *

At the hospital, the reporters that hovered around waiting for news of Prince Darien ignored Serena, though they attacked the Scouts with questions. The media launched to their feet, cameras flashed and there was a loud chattering, before Serena and the others had all filed into the main lounge.

"What is the news?"

"Is the possibility of Prince Darien's death going to affect the peace talks?"

"How do you feel about your Prince lying unconscious on his bed?"

"Will this affect the search for the Princess Serena?"

At that moment, a black cat torpedoed into the room, announcing, "He's awake! He's Awake! Darien is AWAKE!" Immediately, there was a shuffling as reporters turned to the cat advisor and began asking more questions. But she was no longer paying any attention to any of them. Her eyes were solely on Serena. She had frozen in mid-stride and slid about three feet.

Raye grabbed Serena's arm, as Amy grabbed Luna, and they were pulled from the Lounge toward the halls that Luna had arrived from. The journalists, sensing a story, tried to follow, but the security guards that the Scouts had hired stepped in the way and stopped them.

After they were out of earshot, and eyesight, Amy dropped Luna, and Raye let go of Serena's arm. Then, the Scouts, realizing that Luna and Serena needed to be alone, filed down the hall and into a room.

Serena gazed at Luna trying to figure out what to expect. Luna took a tentative step toward her and frowned. "You look like Serena."

"Yeah, given the coverage, I have seen a lot of 'Serenas'." Serena replied.

"Where did you go?" Luna asked.

"Away. It doesn't matter."

"Are you going to actually stay?" Serena had a feeling that these questions were rehearsed, and sighed.

"I don't know yet. I'm just here for Darien, and to find out what the Negaverse sent us this time." She walked past Luna toward where the other girls had disappeared.

"What's you daughters name?" Luna asked, cantering up beside Serena. Serena glanced down at Luna.

"I'm me, Luna. I don't want to be here, but I am here. I couldn't stay away when the others were in trouble. I guess your training taught me that." Serena said.

"What is your daughters name?"

Serena stopped. "Renee." She stated. "I suppose she went back to the future to find out why I had vanished, and where I had gone." Then she grinned. "Your daughter's name is Diana. Melvin, a guy in my junior high class had a crush on me, wrote horrible poetry, then started dating Molly. Molly was my best friend before I met the Scouts. You had a Band-Aid on your forehead when I found you. My first battle was when Molly and her mother were attacked in the Jewelry shop. Do I pass the test?"

Luna blinked. "Why did you leave us? Why didn't you come back when we sent word that you were missing? Why now? Why did you come back now?" The words burst from Luna as if she had been trying to hold them back.

"None of you accepted me for who I was, mistakes and all." Serena ticked a finger from her left hand. "I wasn't ready to come back at all." Another finger went down. "I came back because I love Darien and I am still Sailor Moon, I guess." She shook her head. "I'm sorry." She turned and started for the door that the Scouts had disappeared in.

"Serena…" Luna stated from behind her.

"I don't care, Luna." Serena said stopping again. "I really don't."

"You cant just come back here and expect things to be as they were."

"I know that. I don't know about you guys, but I have changed." She looked back at Luna. "I earned a life, I worked hard for it. I have changed, and I know that none of you will accept it. You didn't accept it in the first place, why accept it now." She opened the door and peered inside.

Darien was sitting with a bandage wrapped around his head, while a smaller square one stretched from his neck to his shoulder. He looked tired and weak. Maybe I should wait till he's better. Serena thought.

"Serena." Darien stated from the bed. He didn't even look at her; he stared at the wall across from where he sat. The Scouts were gathered on the far side of his bed, looking at Serena with mixed emotions. Doubt and mistrust were obvious, anger was there too, but the other emotions, Serena didn't recognize. Luna passed her and leapt onto Darien's bed.

"Hi, Darien." Serena said, cautiously stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. She stared at him. Her feelings for him had grown. Absence make the love grow stronger, I guess. She thought as she studied his profile.

He was very handsome. Age really hadn't done much to change him. He still had the beautiful soft black hair she remembered, the pale skin, the piercing dark blue eyes, the athletic build, and the regal air that he seemed to carry everywhere.

He finally turned to look at her, his eyes dark and shuttered. She couldn't tell what he felt seeing her standing at his bedside. She shivered uncomfortably.

"I can come back when you feel better." She told him, almost hoping he would allow her to leave. She hadn't realized how hard it would be to see him again, knowing that in a sense she had betrayed him, then allowed him to be so seriously hurt in the process. She looked at the floor, afraid to meet his eyes.

"Please leave." Darien stated sharply. Serena felt as if her heart was about to break, and she turned toward the door. "Not you." She froze, her heart screaming in pain and her throat constricting to control the flow of tears that threatened to flood again. The Scouts and Luna filed past her, all of them giving her looks that said she had a lot to pay for, and a lot of work to do to get them to trust her again. She realized that she didn't want their trust to return as much as she wanted Darien's trust.

"Come here." It was a command. Serena felt her temper rise, but bit it back, knowing full well that she deserved whatever he had to give her. She moved to where she could see the corner of the bed, still looking at the ground, and froze. Again feeling like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an automobile, paralyzed, knowing she couldn't move before it hit her. She heard the bed shift. Feet drifted into her view and she could feel the heat Darien's body gave off against her arm.

"You shouldn't be out of bed. You have been ill for a while." She said immediately, looking up into his eyes. What she saw there floored her. Pain and fear were dominant, but there was also love. He couldn't deny his feelings for her any more than she could have for him. Her heart jumped into her throat and tears stung her eyes. She blinked furiously.

"Serena." He said again, his voice full of emotion, as if he too were fighting back tears.

"Oh, Darien. I never meant to hurt you." She stated, forgetting to stop the tears from flowing. He reached up and cradled her cheek, brushing a tear away with his thumb. She fell into him, her arms wrapping around his waste. "I am so sorry." She whispered against his chest.

He pushed her back gently. "Serena." He said a third time, but this time his voice was hard. "I can't believe that you would have done it. I can't believe that you abandoned your friends and me, because you made some simple mistakes. We had them corrected during the next day, and the delegates weren't as offended as we had believed. They felt you were refreshing and wondered where you had gone." He paused then, and sat on the bed. "They wanted to know where you went. We all had thought you went to your moms, and we told them that." His voice shook, pain and anger ringing edging it clearly. "Then you mother showed up a couple weeks later and told us all that you hadn't come by to visit her like usual."

Serena shook her head. "I couldn't handle the fact that you guys wouldn't accept me, no matter how hard I tried. It was never good enough." Darien grabbed her hand.

"It was always good enough for me." He stated.

They didn't say anything for a while. Serena stood, while Darien sat, both lost in their own thoughts.

Then the Scouts burst into the room, looking worried.

"There has been another attack."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

* * *

The attack had been on a delegate from England. She kept muttering about eyes, but it seemed that her spirit was broken. Raye automatically began issuing orders to search the area where the representative had been found. Amy was the only one that pointed out that since Serena was back, she should be the one to give orders. But Serena shook her head and followed Raye's orders without question.

They searched the area until dawn and then split up, the Scouts went back to the palace to sleep, while Serena went to the hospital to ask Darien questions about his attack. The reporters had found out that Serena was back, and the moment Serena had stepped inside the Lounge they demanded interviews, but she ignored them. She went straight back to Darien's room without a word to anyone.

He was asleep when she got to his room. Silently, she sat on the small couch in the room, grabbed a magazine and began to read the various stories about people who had normal lives and what they did to maintain their jobs, get promotions or raises, how to raise their kids and maintain the chores, and food recipes that Serena wanted to try to cook when she had the chance.

She didn't realize that after she had been there for about an hour, Darien had woken up and taken to watching her, a look of surprise on his face.

* * *

Darien couldn't believe the difference in Serena. She had changed from the awkward young woman who had tried so hard to get the approval of him and the other Scouts. She had even dropped the meatballs that he had been so fond of, and let her hair hang freely over her shoulders and back. She had a quiet confidence and look that said that she had worked hard for the last two years to make a life for herself. She had grown stronger in spirit and will, but was holding it in check around him and the others.

He realized with even more surprise that she was waiting for the moment that they would all start in on her, and would let them. He knew that she felt she deserved it. But she had also obviously accomplished so much in the time she had been gone. Enough to make her proud of herself.

She had entered his hospital room with a grace that she hadn't had before. Her demeanor had almost completely changed from the time she had been gone. She had been able to enter the room without having one klutzy moment, and apparently entered the room while he slept without accidentally waking him.

In a way, he felt proud of her. Even though she had been gone, and had made them all worried, she had come back the moment there was trouble. She had changed and grown enough to realize that she had a job to do, even if she was still a bit grudging about it.

She smiled silently at the magazine in her hand, and Darien realized with a pang that the only things he had ever seen her read before she vanished, were manga. He wondered if she had grown to books yet, and silently went through some of the books in the Crystal Palace that he thought she might be interested in.

Suddenly, her eyes flicked above the edge of the magazine and she sat bolt upright. In her haste to sit up, she rocked the small couch and an end table that sat up against the chair fell over, taking with it a plant and several other magazines. He frowned, and saw her face fall.

"It's alright, the maid that comes in later will pick it up." He said calmly. She apparently took it the wrong way, her face flashed momentarily with anger, but whatever retort she was about to make, she bit down on. Instead, she stood up.

"I can get it, I made the mess, I can pick it up." She said softly. She left the room, with the grace that he had seen the first time she had entered it. While she was gone the Scouts, Luna, and Artemis entered the room and glanced at the mess on the floor.

Instantly, Darien felt his hackles raise. "She's gone to get some stuff to clean it up." He told them, defensively. Their faces showed a flash of surprise. Raye bit her lip then moved to stand beside his bed.

"She's changed." Raye said, her eyes filled with an emotion that Darien didn't recognize on her.

"She followed Raye's orders." Lita added, still looking at the mess on the floor.

"She wouldn't take charge, when I said that it was her job." Amy stated.

Darien stared at them in shock. Serena had changed more than he had earlier realized.

"She might still leave." Mina stated.

"Somehow, I think that she changed enough to know what her responsibility is." Raye said softly. "I don't think she will leave us. But we need to earn her trust as much as she needs to earn ours."

The door opened again and Serena stepped into the room. She paused, looking at the Scouts, then, almost defiantly, walked over to the mess and began to pick things up. Darien watched her as she worked. Darien knew that even though he should feel nothing more than resentment, anger, and mistrust, he couldn't stop loving her. It hurt when he realized that she was truly gone, he had almost given up hope that she would ever be back.

She grabbed the broom she had leaned against the wall and started sweeping the dirt off the floor. He couldn't deny that she looked more beautiful than he had thought possible. He stood up, and went over to her. She glanced up at him, almost fearfully, as he bent to help her.

"Serena, you don't have to do this." He said gently.

"I made the mess, I'll pick it up." She replied, as she spilled the dust pan she had just picked up. She stared at it, for a moment, confused. Then close to tears, she tried to sweep it back into the dustpan and instead of sweeping it into the neat pile in the pan that she had before, when everyone was away from her, she sprayed it across the room, nailing Darien in the process.

"Serena, you're making it worse." Luna started, her tone the same as when she had reprimanded Serena, almost constantly, two years earlier. Darien sent her a quelling look, he thought he was starting to understand why Serena was klutzy. But the damage had been done. Serena stood ramrod straight and left the room, head held high, and tears rolling down her cheeks.

Darien turned on Luna. "Wonderful!" He snapped, she looked taken aback. "Why didn't you just tell her how klutzy she was when she was here two years ago? Are you trying to get her to leave again? Cause if you are, you are doing the best job I have seen yet." He went back to his bed and laid down. "Leave. Get out!" Luna, looking offended, left, followed shortly by Artemis and Mina who looked as if they were going to go calm her down.

"I don't think that Luna realized that she was-" Amy started. Darien frowned at her.

"I lost Serena once, I will NOT lose her again." He told the remaining Scouts.

Raye was the only one that seemed to agree, which was saying something.

* * *

Serena waited until everyone had left Darien's room before she ventured back. Once inside, she noticed that he was asleep and quickly cleaned up the mess that she had made, then sat on the couch and picked up another magazine. Then she put it down and looked around. The room at nothing in it besides the couch, the end table, a few pictures, the bed that Darien was sleeping on, and a night-stand. She frowned.

She made her way quickly to the gift shop, and bought a couple of rather expensive pictures, a teddy bear, some roses and a vase and a cute flashing bouncy ball then carried the load back to his room and began decorating it. After a while, she was broke, and the room looked almost like her apartment, minus the wall of mangas. Though she had bought herself a couple to read while she waited for Darien to wake up. She need not have bothered.

As she finished hanging up the last picture, a soft voice spoke from directly behind her, "You did a wonderful job." Serena almost fell off the couch in alarm.

"D-Darien." She gasped. "You scared me!"

He gave her one of his best smiles, and she felt like she melted. She grinned feebly back at him.

"You like it?" She asked glancing around to make sure she had put everything up.

"I like that one picture of a man in a Tuxedo staring at a lake." Darien said. Serena laughed.

"I thought you would notice that one first." She confided in him. "I think I want it hung in my room, when you get out of the hospital." She looked at him and clamped her mouth shut. His look showed interest that had nothing to do with he painting. She quickly went over what she had said in her mind.

"I needed to talk to you." She said quickly, realizing what she had said, and deciding for a change of topic. "Do you remember anything about what happened when you were attacked?"

Darien frowned, and shook his head. "All I remember is a pair of eyes." He stated. Serena sighed.

"That's what the delegate said. You are the only one to have woken up, you know." She looked out the window. "You don't remember anything else at all? A smell, where you were when it happened?"

He thought for a moment. "I was with Raye in the gardens of the Crystal Palace." He shrugged. Serena felt her face grow hot and kept her face averted from him.

"Did you guys hear or see anything?" Serena asked, trying to keep her tone neutral as jealousy flared.

"I didn't. I am not sure. Raye was asking about one of the delegates, a person from the Asian continent, she mentioned having bad vibes from him, and," He chuckled, "he kept hitting on her."

"What continent is the rep from?" Serena asked interested in spite of herself.

"Romania." Darien replied. "You got an idea or something?"

Serena shook her head, "no, just curious. Do you think it's the Negaverse?"

"I'm not sure. It could be someone against world peace."

"Well, maybe I could try to continue the talks and lure it after me." Serena said, her mind grabbing at the possibility.

"You don't know anything about what we have done so far as far as that peace talks." Darien stated. "We can wait until I get out of here, they said that I should be released tomorrow."

"I don't want to use you as a target, Darien. I think being attacked once is enough." She turned and stared at him. "You are just going to have to fill me in." Then she added, at the look on his face, "I'm not taking no for an answer, sorry."

Darien sighed, his face showed a mixture of disbelief, fear, and determination, but finally he shrugged. "Alright, you need a pen and some paper."

Serena felt light, Darien trusted her enough to let her try. She bolted from the room, knocking over a nurse that was about to enter and tore down the hallways to the gift shop where she managed to con some paper and a pen off of the lady that she had bought everything else from, then she raced back to Darien's room.

They spent the next several hours discussing the negotiations and where they were now. Darien explained who was from where, what they looked like, their favorite foods, and what they did when they were upset and happy.

Serena surprised herself by having some good ideas to suggest, which made Darien stare at her as if he had never seen her.

Just after three in the afternoon, she was ready.

* * *

The palace looked the same as it had before Serena had left. She walked into the main entrance hall and stared around in surprise as she noticed small differences in the décor but most of her original designs were still there. She couldn't help herself from investigating every room she passed on the way to her rooms.

She finally made it to her door and took a deep breath. Do I really want to step back into the role I had tried my best to get out of? She wondered, staring at the white door as if it was her worst enemy.

Lita appeared beside her, causing her to jump. "Everything is the same as when you left it." She told Serena. "Want some company?"

Serena gratefully grabbed at the first sign of friendship Lita had shown since Serena had returned. "Sure." She grabbed the doorknob and opened the door. Her room looked the same way as it had when she had packed the few items that she felt she would need in the outside world.

A gauzy pink four-poster bed sat along the far wall, the bed a splattering of pink and pastel blue comforters and sheets. Clothing littered the floor in front of her dresser, where she had thrown them looking for specific less used clothing she stored at the bottom of the drawers. The wardrobe looked the same. Everything, from stuffed animals to her pile of mangas, was the way she had left it, except for a thin layer of dust that coated everything.

"Like I said, everything was left the way you left it. Darien sealed the room off completely." Lita stated, as she glanced around the room. Serena nodded, remembering when she had helped to build the Palace, and the gossip sessions she had had with the Scouts before plans of the Peace Talks had begun.

"I doubt that I can fit into any of the clothes that I used to have." Serena mumbled trying to think about the plans for that evening.

"Actually, Mina and you are about the same size. She just bought some gowns a couple weeks ago that she wasn't able to use due to the attacks, maybe she'll let you borrow a couple." Lita suggested. Serena nodded.

"Sounds good." She lead the way out of her room and down the hall to the door that she knew lead to Mina's room. Tapping on the door gently, Serena waited for Mina to open up.

"Coming, hold on." Mina shouted through the door, shortly before opening it. "Hi, Serena. I thought you might come by. Darien called and told us what you planned on doing, so I set out some of the new dresses I got." She smiled waving a hand at her pastel orange bed. "You can try them all on. I tried to find ones that would match you." She led the way inside. Gossiping as if Serena had never left. Serena relaxed under the constant flow and joined in adding the thoughts she had made to Darien concerning what had been done so far with the discussions.

* * *

Two hours later found Serena in a white gossamer gown, which shimmered as she walked. Luna had appeared during the outfitting and started reminding Serena about the way a Princess should act, which took most of the second hour. The Scouts had gathered what was left of the council in the entrance hall.

Serena made her grand entrance, this time with one hand firmly on the barrister, the other holding up her skirt so that she wouldn't step on it, without any mishap. She even managed to get each of the delegates into a conversation without getting nervous and stammering over her own words. As she approached the last ambassador, the Romanian, dinner was announced, and she was paired off with the Australian diplomat.

She passed through dinner without causing food to fly, or dribble down her front, or trip one of the servers, which surprised even herself. And finally, was able to retire to appropriate rooms for coffee, tea, brandy and whatever else there was to be had. She got Raye to sing, Mina to act out a solo, and Amy to trump around on a small upright piano for entertainment while she made rounds, and apparently, good progress toward peace.

At the end of the night, Serena bade her farewells, and glided up the main stairs toward her room alone, as Darien had told her to, since he was not there to escort her. Though when she reached her room, she leaned against the door with a sigh of relief. It had been a long dinner, and she felt exhausted, but she knew that the second part of the plan was coming up.

She entered her room, dressed in her casual jeans and t-shirt and met the Scouts in the dining room where they would take a leisurely stroll outside and talk about the congregation.

As they walked and talked, Serena and the others kept their eyes and ears open for anything unusual. Nothing seemed to happen at all.

"Serena, you look really tired." Lita said. Serena froze mid-yawn and smiled at her.

"That's like the fifth time you've yawned in ten minutes." Mina added.

"I am kinda tired. Guess I oughta go to bed?" Serena asked. The others nodded. "What are you guys going to do now?"

"We check the grounds then go to bed ourselves." Raye said, as she, too, yawned. Serena smiled.

"Well, goodnight, then. See you tomorrow. I want to go talk to Darien and let him know how it went, so I'll be up early." Serena told them. She turned and headed back for the Dining room patio.

"Hello, Princess Serena." A voice said softly from the darkness. Serena jumped and turned around. She quickly scanned the shadows, but she didn't need to. A man was standing on the trail behind her. He grinned callously as Serena recognized who he was.

The ambassador from Romania.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

* * *

The Ambassador of Romania looked vaguely different from when she had said goodbye to him in the entrance hall. He also felt rather strange, but Serena couldn't help thinking that her mind was making it up. She couldn't really explain the feeling she got from him, except that it was almost like frozen ants crawling across her skin.

He wasn't much taller than her. He had dark brown hair streaked with gray. His skin was so pale that Serena had thought that he was extremely ill, but really wanted peace to strive so hard to appear well enough to go through with the talks. His eyes were ice blue, but seemed to glow. Serena had never seen eyes like that before, but guessed that they appeared that way due to whatever illness he had.

He seemed to be studying her, as if he was considering what kind of person she was.

"Did you have a question, Ambassador Valladao?" Serena asked, wondering why he had come back to the palace. "Did you forget something?"

"No." He seemed to stare intently at her eyes, until she felt uncomfortable and looked away. He frowned. He moved closer to her. "How did you escape notice when the whole world seemed to be looking for you?" He asked with a thick accent. Serena shrugged.

"I don't think that it is of any importance to the peace we all yearn for," Serena said softly, trying to remember how to phrase things so that they wouldn't be taken for an insult.

"You are a very, err, interesting Lady, Princess." He said moving closer. Serena stepped back.

"Ambassador, I do not believe that how interesting I am has any grounding on the talks. I bid you farewell." Serena told him curtly. She turned and started to walk up the stairs to the patio.

A hand grabbed her arm and jerked her back, causing her to stumble. She cried out in surprise.

"No one turns away from me." The Ambassador growled, the accent gone. Serena stared at him. The skin on her arm had grown ice cold, and the hair stood on end. The strange energy, that she had felt earlier, crept along her skin. Serena pulled her arm from his grip.

"I will thank you to not touch me again." She snapped at him.

Something was wrong, she couldn't put her finger on it. Something about him was very different from all the people she had ever talked to. Her heart hummed with fear, and she found herself trying to cover it with anger. Her instincts told her that the man in front of her was not a man at all.

Some kind of energy emanated from him, a cold blast that felt dead. Dead longer than anyone could have believed. She backed as far away from him as she could, but he didn't seem to notice. He cornered her against one of the bushes, and reached out to touch her face.

"So Beautiful." He murmured.

"Mars…flame… THROWER!" Raye's voice tore at the still night air. A spiral of almost blue flames burst from nowhere, striking the Ambassador in the back. But instead of stopping, like Mar's flames usually did, they kept streaming from where Mars stood, her fingers steepled together to help her aim. Her face was filled with concentration, even though her indigo eyes were closed.

Her flames seemed to envelope the Ambassador. He screamed with rage and pain. But quicker than should have been possible, the fire that Raye had created consumed his entire body. The Sailor Scouts appeared on the patio and stared in disbelief at the writhing body on the ground next to Serena. Serena leapt over it and ran up the stairs to stand beside them. In almost no time, all that was left of the body was dust.

Serena turned to the Sailor Scouts. "What was it? What did you do, Mars?" Serena asked, but from the look on Mars face she didn't know what had happened either.

"Negaverse?" Mina asked.

"That was too easy, even for the Negaverse." Raye said, her eyes wide in shock, her voice trembled slightly. They fell silent for a moment, thinking.

"It wasn't human." Serena said, "And it wasn't the Negaverse, either. It felt off." She looked at the pile of dust at the ground. "It was older than it should have been, and I don't think it was alive." She glanced at the others, "at least not in our sense of the word."

"How do you know?" Amy asked.

"I don't know how. I just know. That thing was over two hundred years old."

* * *

"What do you mean he burned to a crisp?" Darien asked outraged. "You just killed the Romanian Ambassador and now you are telling me that he wasn't part of the Negaverse?" He couldn't really understand what they were talking about. An ambassador turning into a fireball then to dust in a few seconds? That just didn't happen. "Was he the one that has been attacking everyone?"

"We don't know." Serena said calmly from her perch on a couch. He had returned to the palace earlier than was expected, to find Serena and the others talking about what had happened the night before. Darien got the feeling that they had stayed up all night.

"Ok. Him attacking Serena wasn't the best move in the world. But Raye, hitting him with… Maybe he was human. We don't know the full properties of your fire attacks. Or anyone else's for that matter." Darien growled. Raye looked down, for once not responding with anger. "We've never hit a true human with any of the Planet Attacks."

He looked back at Serena who was watching him. Something about the way she looked at him scared him. The look was deep, like she had realized something and it wasn't good. She straightened up and walked over to him. Her fingers stretched out and touched the bandage on his neck, and he felt the world shiver beneath his feet.

"Then tell me, what happened here?" She asked softly, her hand trailing from the bandage to his shoulder. Then, as if she realized what she was doing, she jerked her hand away from him. He stared at her.

The room suddenly felt stifled, like there wasn't enough air. A low pulsing energy seemed to arch between Serena and himself. He vaguely noticed that she had put her hair back into the meatballs she was famous for, and because they were shorter than they had been, they looked unusual.

On impulse he reached out one of his hands and cupped her cheek. The energy around them seemed to jump and writhe frantically like it yearned to burst. Serena half closed her eyes and leaned into his hand. His pulse jumped and started humming in time with the frenzied energy he felt in the air.

Lita cleared her throat somewhere behind Serena and he jumped. "You guys. You might want to save that for later. We do have a problem right now." She said, but there was a slight humor in her voice. He pulled his hand away. He wondered if he should touch Serena, she could take off again at any moment, like she had two years earlier. He couldn't trust her, not anymore, not like he and the others had. He wondered if the other girls knew that as well, and decided to have a talk with them about it.

"The doctor said that it looked like I had been thrown into a bush or something, the whole side of my neck was torn open." Darien said, trying to ignore the pain in Serena's eyes. She finally looked away.

"Well, it probably doesn't mean anything anyway. We don't know for sure what it was. It could have been human and there could have been a weird fluke with Raye's Mars Attack. Serena could have been imagining the feeling she got from the Ambassador, since she was frightened by the way that he had been acting." Amy shrugged. "Or it could be the Negaverse. We won't know unless something else happens, and I doubt that it will."

I hope nothing else happens. Darien thought looking at the back of Serena's head.

* * *

Serena doubted whether she had hallucinated what she had felt. She forced herself into thinking of the Ambassador's attack as something from the Negaverse. With a sinking heart, she realized that she wouldn't be able to leave New Tokyo until she destroyed the new threat that the Negaverse had sent after them.

The thing bothering her most was how she had felt being so close to Darien again. She couldn't be with him. She didn't want to be the Princess. No one had ever thought her to be good enough, and she didn't want to deal with that fact. No matter what she did there would always be the reality that she was a klutz. She didn't want to be reprimanded for the rest of her life.

Her mother had dropped her things off earlier that day, along with Cammie, her kitten. Most of the boxes were opened with things draping from them. Cammie laid curled into a ball on the bed, staring at Serena with a look of resentment. Serena wondered whether Luna had met Cammie, yet, but decided it didn't matter.

Darien had wanted to talk to Serena privately, and had offered to take her to dinner, away from prying ears. So Serena had searched through the boxes for one of her favorite dresses. She had bought it on a whim while in America, but had never had a reason to wear it before.

"I'm sorry. I would stay and play with you, but Darien wanted to talk to me." She told it, but the kitten promptly stretched and turned away, effectively ignoring her. For a moment, Serena felt a pang of sympathy for the little kitten. She hadn't been able to spend any time with Cammie since she had returned to New Tokyo. Serena made a mental note to spend some time with Cammie when she got back after her talk with Darien.

She was glad not to have a maid. She hated having someone else take care of her. She was good at taking care of herself, anyway. Everything was left the way that Serena and her mother had dumped it. She would make time later to clean her room, and set her things up. But she wondered whether she really should. She was pretty sure that after the Negaverse was taken care of, she would go back to America and restart her life. She wondered for a moment whether Lily would let her stay with her when she returned home, but shrugged, knowing that at the moment it didn't matter.

Serena finished pulling on the dress and turned to look critically in the mirror. She had tied her hair with a little difficulty into an elegant topknot, leaving thin tendrils to trail over her shoulders and down her back. The dress hung low over her shoulders, sweeping out in wide sleeves that almost looked like wings, and clung to her chest stomach and hips before sweeping over her thighs to end just above her knees. She had loved the dress on sight. She wondered, for a moment, whether Darien would like it.

She twirled experimentally and watched as the skirt billowed out in a circle around her. Nodding to herself, she turned back to her boxes and searched for her jewelry chest. The jewelry box was cute; she had gotten it because it had a crescent moon and a star, both cut into the wood in a Celtic design, on the lid. She sifted through the small box until she found a pair of earrings, a pair of dangling royal blue crescent moons that matched the dress and a pearl choker for her throat.

Again she turned to admire the effect in the mirror. The effect of the necklace, earrings, and dress, seemed to make her skin glow, and her eyes turn a more remarkable shade of blue. She loved the result.

Turning, Serena glanced at Cammie, who was again watching her. "What do you think?" she asked, doing a pirouette for the kitten. When she was facing the kitten again, it had raised it head. It blinked, yawned, stretched, and then curled back into a tight ball, closing it's eyes. "Well, I didn't think it was that boring!" Serena told it, grinning; she grabbed her purse and left the room.

At the grand staircase to the entrance hall, Serena froze, staring down at Darien. He looked immaculate. He wore a white tux, with a royal blue vest, and black sash across his waist. He wasn't wearing a top hat, like he did as Tuxedo Mask. His black hair and blue eyes seemed to stand out against the pale white of his suit. He was turned away from her, talking to someone else, and didn't notice her staring at him with her mouth wide open.

Her mouth snapped closed when he turned around. She smiled sweetly at him, but then noticed who he was talking to. Raye stood to one side of him. She looked at Serena with a mixture of surprise and anger.

Serena looked at Darien, and frowned. Then made her way down the stairs, not really paying attention to her feet, but watching Darien and Raye openly. She managed to reach the bottom of the steps and stopped, clasping her hands in front of her.

Darien walked up to her, and offered her his arm, which she took, and they both walked out into the falling darkness to the limo that waited on them.

* * *

Dinner ended up being a complete fiasco. When they ordered, Serena shifted, knocking her chair into the waiter who was taking their order, who then fell into another waiter carrying someone else's order, which went flying into a quietly giggling couple, who got upset and jumped up and knocking over several other waiters carrying food. Darien swore that it was a domino effect.

They ended up being kicked out before they ate, and Darien, worried that Serena would klutz out again, ordered fast food. He directed the limo to a park and he led Serena into the shadows so they could eat and talk in private. Serena, horrified at what she had done at the diner didn't touch anything, and sat as far away from Darien as possible without going clear across the park.

"What is bothering you, Serena?" He asked softly.

She glanced up at him, her eyes wide. "Nothing. I'm just thinking about the meeting tomorrow." She replied. He knew she was hiding something, and found himself wondering if she was thinking of leaving again. Apparently, some of that thought showed on his face, because her gaze darkened and she looked away.

"Serena, you can always talk to me about anything." Darien said. A bitter laugh answered his statement. He stood and touched her shoulder, trying to get her to look at him. "I will always be there for you." He knew he was beginning to push, but he couldn't seem to help himself.

She stood up abruptly, startling him. "I want to go home."

"Why?" He asked before he could stop himself. She met his eyes again. He saw a pain in her eyes that made his gut clench.

"I don't want to talk, Darien." She said, her voice cold. "I want to go home."

Darien shook his head, "Not till you talk to me."

"Dammit, Darien. I _don't_ want to talk! Thank you for dinner, it wont happen again." She turned and stalked back the way they had come. Darien grabbed her arm before she got more than a few steps. She turned and glared at him. "Leave me alone, Darien!"

"Why are you being such a spoiled brat? You act as though you are ready to get chewed out by any of us, like you know that you did something wrong, but when someone tries to talk you turn away and hide. You wont let anyone tell you anything." Serena stared at him, her mouth open like she hadn't expected him to say what he did. "Raye is right you are acting like a child." He knew the moment he spoke, it had been mistake. Her face turned red, her eyes sparking.

"Yeah, Raye is always right isn't she?" Serena spat "Let me guess, you turned to her the moment I vanished. Was she really that comforting?"

"Serena, that isn't fair, nor is it true and you know it."

"No, I don't Darien, I wasn't here, remember? I don't know what any of you did. And honestly I don't care!" Serena growled. Darien could tell that she _did_ care.

"Serena, I-" He started. The wind seemed to still suddenly, and Darien felt something approaching him from behind. But before he could react, he was slammed to the ground.

Then he heard Serena's scream.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

* * *

Serena turned in time to see a man bolt from the closest foliage to tackle Darien. He moved faster than should have been possible. Then something slammed into her, also knocking her to the ground. She felt the pavement rip at her arm and cheek, and knew that she would start bleeding. She tried to push herself up, but the person that had seized her grabbed her hair and slammed her face into the ground, several times. The person on her back, suddenly stood, and pulled her up by the hair roughly, causing her to cry out in pain.

He turned her to face him. He looked human, but the tell-tale feeling, that Serena had felt with the Ambassador of Romania, said he wasn't. He was tall, possibly even taller than Darien, with dark brown hair that hung limply around his face and over his shoulders. His eyes looked to be a pale brown, almost honey yellow, but human eyes couldn't be yellow. His skin bore signs that it had once had a great tan, but it was, at the moment, a sickly yellowish color, as if the skin hadn't seen sunlight in several years. His face was gaunt, making it look sharp and narrow.

Serena tried to pull away, attempting to stop the strange feeling that crept along her skin, raising the hair on her arms and neck. The man didn't seem to like the idea and pulled her forcefully against him. He stared right into her eyes, as if searching for something. But he apparently didn't find what he was looking for, and looking slightly surprised, pushed her slightly away.

Serena glanced wildly around for Darien, who stood, gazing blankly toward her, another man beside him. "Darien!" She cried, wrestling with the man holding her, to go to him. But the man holding her jerked her roughly and she stumbled, skinning her knee. Darien didn't even blink.

The man next to Darien started walking toward the far gates, away from the limo, and Darien followed silently behind. The man holding Serena tugged on her hair and followed.

"Darien?" He walked calmly, as if he didn't have a care in the world. She knew that he wasn't acting right; she knew that he would have come un-glued if he had seen her being held like she was, or maybe he didn't care anymore.

Serena tried to stop the tears that threatened to spill out over her cheeks. What is going on? She thought, almost hysterical. She pulled back on her hair, wondering if she dared let him rip it out, but the pain the flooded her scalp said she couldn't. She wondered for a moment whether she should have turned into Sailor Moon but realized that she left her Moon Wand at the palace. The brown haired man jerked on her hair again and she sprawled on the pavement, tearing her already bleeding arm. The man didn't stop walking as he pulled her hair, and for a few seconds she was dragged along the pavement before she could stumble to her feet.

No one seemed to want to talk as they walked up to a dark van just outside the gates of the park. Darien climbed in calmly, but Serena tried to fight. It took both men to put her in the van. She thought it was strange that no one heard her screams. Even though it was dark, there were people walking in the park and on the sidewalk. They passed without even a glance in her direction.

Once in the car, the two men tied her hands behind her back and shoved her painfully into the seat next to Darien, who looked as if he were only going for an afternoon drive. "Darien?" She asked plaintively. She turned to face the other two men who climbed into the car with her, the dark haired man had gotten into the drivers seat, the neon blond sat on a seat facing Serena.

He grinned at her, almost as if daring her to do anything. So she did. She aimed her foot to his groin and kicked with all she had. He roared in pain, doubling over in his seat. The van swerved sharply, throwing Serena into the sliding door, Darien landed on top of her.

He moved calmly back to his seat without helping Serena to her feet. The blond grabbed her hair and jerked her back to the seat.

"Don't mess around, Laryn." The dark haired man stated calmly.

"The bitch kicked me, Damin." Laryn stated coldly, glaring at Serena.

Damin glanced in the rearview mirror at Serena, "Don't fuck around, girlie. You wont like pissing us off."

"Fuck off!" Serena snapped. Laryn slapped her before she could move. She kicked him again, leaning her back into the seat to get a better angle, and snapping his knee. She heard the sickly crack as his kneecap decided to bend the wrong way. Laryn howled in pain again, collapsing onto the seat. Damin swerved the van hard again. Serena flew into the door, and screamed. Darien landed next to her, looking like nothing had happened at all. Again, he moved back to his seat without a word or a helping hand. Laryn jerked her back to her seat, trying to keep out of reach.

"I hope it hurts." Serena growled. Laryn hit her with a balled fist, and she slumped into the seat slightly dazed.

A few minutes later, Serena was pulled from the van by Damin, the side of her face stinging where Laryn had slapped and hit her, unfortunately that side of the face already had some nice scrapes on it. It hurt worse than it would have if they had hit her on the other side of her face.

Serena glanced around trying to get a bearing on where she was. A neon sign hung above the front of the building, flashing defiantly in the dark: 'Limbo Dance Hall.' She waited as Darien climbed out beside her and the two men forced them into the back door.

She and Darien were lead down a maze of corridors and into a room at the very end of a dark hallway. The two men shoved Darien and Serena into the room and slammed the door. Serena stared at the door apprehensively before glancing around the room.

There was a light fixture above where Darien and she stood, and another at the other end of the room, lighting up a couch along one wall and a black desk at the far end of the room. Serena turned back toward the door, trying to figure out how to untie her hands and try to open it. It hadn't sounded like they had locked it.

"Serena? What happened? How did we get here?" A voice asked directly behind her. Serena jumped, startled, and turned toward Darien. His face hardened when he saw the scrapes on her own. He looked like he was alive again. "What the hell happened to you?" He asked moving toward her.

"What do you mean?" Serena asked, frowning.

"All I remember was being thrown to the ground, then seeing you go flying. Something pulled me to my feet and…" He paused, looking abashed. "All the sudden we were here. What's going on?"

"Well, I was bashed into the pavement a few times for good measure. Then they pulled us into a van, which you got into willingly, I might add. Where I was beat up after attacking one of our attackers. Then we walked down a labyrinth of hallways and now we are here. But I have no clue why, the guys who grabbed us wouldn't say anything." She paused, looking at Darien with a slight frown. She turned around letting him see the ropes on her wrists. "Can you untie me?"

Quickly, he started tugging on the ropes that held her wrists together. After a few seconds, they were off and she tried to open the door. "It's locked from the outside, I think. I didn't hear the door lock when they threw us in here, and I can't tell if there is a keyhole or not, it's too dim in here." She turned around and looked around the room for any windows, maybe a ventilation shaft, anything that they could use to get out of the room. There wasn't anything. Other than the light fixtures the room was blank, no cracks in the walls or the ceiling, no windows, or any other doors. "You would think that they would at least have a fire escape." She muttered.

"Why?" Darien asked her, also looking around, but more thoroughly as he walked along the walls and tried to push against them.

"Well, they brought us into the back a place called Limbo Dance Hall." She looked at him.

He paused in his progress and frowned. "It just opened a couple months ago. Some of the delegates came to it when it first opened, but I never had time to check it out. Do you think that it's a Negaverse base?"

"C'mon, Darien, do the Negaverse work like this? Capturing us and leading us straight to their base?"

"Well, Ann and Alan did, so did Prince Diamond." Darien stated thoughtfully, going back to searching the walls.

"Ok, fine, so I'm forgetful." She stated. She moved toward the desk wondering if maybe there was a weapon of some sort or anything that they could use to get out of the room, but before she reached the desk, the door to the room opened, catching Serena and Darien off guard.

Before they could bum rush the person who opened it, four people filed into the room. The strange energy that Serena picked up off of the guy in the park, and the Ambassador, filled the room like a loud buzz, almost stealing the air from the room. She felt her shoulders tense up reflexively.

There were two women and two men. No, there were three men and one woman. Serena felt her face grow hot as she realized that one of the women was actually man. The woman walked like she owned everything around her. She had blond hair that flowed down her back, ending at about mid-thigh. Serena guessed that she stood around five-foot eight. She had the same ice blue eyes as Laryn, which Serena still thought would have looked more suitable on a wolf. Her skin was milky white, almost transparent, nearly glowing. She looked at Serena as she passed like she thought that Serena was food. The look unnerved Serena, and she turned to study the three men.

The first two looked like thugs. Serena recognized Damin from the park. The other thug stood taller than the other by around five inches, which should have made him around six-feet-five-inches He defiantly looked like a body builder, muscles strained everywhere on him. His skin was a pale black like it hadn't seen the sun in many years. His head was shaved bald, reflecting the dim lights of the room.

The third man to file into the room caught her attention, more than anything else. Mainly because at first Serena thought he was a girl. No man could have been that beautiful. He like the woman who had entered first had really long hair, but his was black. He had almost violet eyes, more red than blue. His skin was also milky, translucent white. He was only about two inches taller than her. She felt drawn to him, and looking in his eyes she thought she would drown. He looked almost identical to Darien, except for his eyes and the length of his hair. She shifted her attention to Darien, who glanced at her, also looking surprised.

Damin moved to sit casually on the edge of the desk, while the other bodybuilder went to stretch lazily on the couch, the woman and Darien's twin moved behind the desk. The woman stood beside the chair, still staring at Serna like she was food. Darien's twin sat down in the chair and gazed thoughtfully at Serena and Darien. Serena tried to open the door again.

"It won't do you any good, Princess." A cold voice issued from behind the desk. Serena turned around to face Darien's twin. She stared at the four people in the room, feeling calmer than she thought she should have been. None of them had moved, but none of them looked completely at ease either. They all acted as if they were waiting for the room to explode or something. The tension in the room seemed heavy, and Serena couldn't help the small grin that split her face.

Serena knew that the man behind the desk was the one to talk to, but it seemed like a bad mob movie. The two thugs were obviously guarding the man in the chair, almost like they would for a mob boss. But Serena couldn't figure out the purpose for the woman. Serena caught herself staring at that woman thoughtfully and cleared her throat.

"What do you want?" Serena asked sweetly. "You could have left a calling card."

"No point. If I had left one, you would have ignored it or thought it was a joke." He replied staring at her with his violet eyes, she looked at the floor, her smile vanishing. When she looked up she noticed that he was studying her, a pained look flashed across his face. "I am sorry about the way my people extended my invitation, no one was to get hurt, but apparently one of my, uh, prieten1?" He paused, thinking, "My friend decided that it was needed." Serena glanced at the Damin with a frown, and turned her attention back to the man behind the desk.

"What do you want?" She asked again.

"What, no pleasantries? I thought you were a Princess." The man said, almost disappointed.

"That subject is under debate." She stated. She heard Darien shift.

"I am Nikolai, and you, of course, are Princess Serena, and Prince Darien, of New Tokyo. That is Syrese," the man behind the desk said, a hint of amusement in his tone as he motioned to the woman beside him, "Damin," the man on the desk, "You met him already. And that is Jesse." He pointed at the man on the couch.

"What do you want?" Serena asked a third time, disregarding his comment.

"You attacked and killed one of my people." He replied as if it was obvious. She shook her head. "Which hasn't happened in a Century."

"I have killed no one." She told him, starting to feel angry.

"Ah, but you have. The Ambassador of Romania was one of my people."

"What do you mean by your people?" Darien asked, suddenly, from behind Serena. She had almost forgotten he was there. He had pulled himself up, moving to stand beside Serena, and looked at Nikolai with a slight frown. "You mean Romanian?"

Nikolai shook his head, keeping his eyes on Serena. "No. We are called the Strigoi." Serena frowned, not familiar with the term.

"Are you part of the Negaverse?" She asked, finally going for the direct approach.

Nikolai frowned and shook his head, again. "I know nothing of this Negaverse, you speak of." The way he said it, caused Serena to believe him.

"What is a Strigoi?" Darien asked.

Again Nikolai answered, looking only at Serena. "We are vampires." He finally glanced at Darien. Serena looked back at Darien, who looked pale, and frowned.

"Vampires don't exist." She stated bluntly, turning her attention to Nikolai. Surprise appeared briefly on his face, but it was gone as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving her wondering if she had seen it at all.

"You do not feel it?" He asked, his voice betrayed no emotion. He seemed to try to get a better look at her. "You don't feel what is in this room right now?"

She shook her head, "All I feel is that you guys are all tense, like you are about to have a fight, or are worried about something." She looked around at the others for a second. "There is no way any of you could be vampires, they don't exist." She repeated her eyes fell on the woman behind Nikolai. She was grinning almost as if she were given a treat. She was not looking at Serena, but at Darien.

Serena turned around quickly, but she shouldn't have worried, other than being pale, Darien was still standing where he had been. Serena turned back to the woman and glared at her.

"We exist." Nikolai stated. He stood and walked around his desk. "You feel us. You feel our energy." He stopped just short of her, and Serena took a step back. He grinned, and close up, Serena was able to see the tips of fangs against his bottom lip. Instinctively she kept her eyes away from his, not really knowing why. She took another step back, suddenly very afraid. She believed him. She didn't want to believe that there were such creatures as vampires walking around anywhere in the world.

Nikolai moved quicker than she could have imagined, suddenly standing directly in front of her. He grabbed her arm and she felt an intense cold sweep over her arm. Her knees buckled, but suddenly, Darien shoved Nikolai away from her. As Nikolai stumbled into the couch, the bodyguards grabbed at Darien and were trying to wrestle him away from Serena. Jesse and Damin finally slammed Darien to the ground and pinned him.

"I thought you had him under control!" Nikolai snapped at Syrese. Serena started to go to Darien, to help, but Nikolai grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him.

"He's strong willed. I didn't think to put him fully under, I thought it would be interesting to let him see what was going on around him, but he has a close bond with her-" Syrese started excitedly.

"I don't have time for your excuses. Put him under!" Nikolai demanded angrily. Syrese blinked and moved to stand in front of Darien.

Serena broke free of Nikolai's hold and launched herself at the woman, knocking her to the ground. "Don't even think about-." Syrese struck at her, it looked like it had been a slap but it caused Serena to fly about three feet away from her and land in a crumpled heap on the floor, the air knocked from her lungs.

Instantly, Nikolai was next to Syrese, and she slammed into the edge of the desk. She slid to the floor, staring at Nikolai as if she had never thought him capable of hitting her. She clutched her cheek and slowly climbed to her feet.

Nikolai grabbed Darien's chin and lifted him to his feet. Darien froze in mid-struggle, and then relaxed.

"Leave him alone!" Serena snarled shoving Nikolai away from Darien. She looked at Darien over her shoulder and saw the same blank expression that he had had when they had first been attacked. "What did you do to him?" She shot at Nikolai, feeling her anger rise again. Her hands balled into fists at her sides.

"I put him under." When she looked confused, Nikolai added, "I hypnotized him."

"How? I didn't see a pocket watch," Serena stated skeptically.

Nikolai's attention was centered on Serena, who stepped back into Darien when she realized how close she stood to him. "With my eyes, vampires have various powers, some can call animals, pull someone under with their eyes, transform, fly, and many others." He told her, as if giving a well-learned lecture. Nikolai glanced at Darien. "Have a seat." Darien walked calmly over to the sofa and sat down. He stared blankly at the wall, his eyes dead.

"Stop it." Serena told Nikolai. She walked to where Darien sat, and situated herself next to him.

Nikolai looked at her with a frown, "I don't think so. He interrupted our conversation."

"We aren't having a conversation. You have us kidnapped and you really want to call that a discussion?" Serena snapped at Nikolai.

"You are the first to have killed my kind in a century." Nikolai said, striding to where Serena sat. "I need your help."

Serena felt her jaw hit the floor. "What?" She looked up at Nikolai.

Nikolai reached out a hand to touch her, and Serena pulled away. "I want to know how you killed Valladao."

"What does it matter, he's dead. I can't change it, and I'm not sure I want to." Serena stated, not wanting to give Nikolai anything. Nikolai reached a hand out toward Serena, again. "Stay away from me."

Nikolai froze. "I don't want to have to kill you and the Prince, Princess. But you are not giving me any options." His voice held nothing, as he spoke, no emotions at all. He shook his head. "Take them out of my sight."

The two bodyguards moved toward where Serena and Darien sat on the couch. Serena grabbed Darien by the shoulders and shook him. "Dammit Darien!" She snapped, shaking him hard enough that his head rocked back and forth on his neck. "WAKE UP!"

He blinked, looking confused, then his attention centered on the two approaching men. He and Serena stood as the two men leapt toward them. Serena dodged toward the door, and Damin slammed into the couch, where he laid sprawled, confused for a second. Darien swung at Jesse, connecting with Jesse's jaw. Jesse howled in pain and struck at Darien, who flew into the wall and crumpled to the floor.

Serena skittered past Damin who had gotten up from the couch and lunged at her again. Serena managed to evade Syrese's clutching hands, in the same movement. Nikolai appeared next to Serena and grabbed her arm. The cold creepy feeling caused Serena to drop to the ground. She felt him lessen his hold slightly as he let her fall, and struck her foot out to catch his leg behind the kneecap. He dropped with a roar of pain, clutching his leg, letting Serena go.

Silently, Serena thanked Lita for teaching her that little stunt, as she rounded on Damin and Jesse, who were approaching her a little more cautiously. Something slammed into Serena from behind, and she dropped, letting the momentum carry her into a roll. She threw her feet out, pushing all the strength in her legs into the movement. Syrese crashed into a wall across the room. She fell to the ground unconscious.

Damin and Jesse didn't wait for Serena to get her bearings. They both launched toward her. For a moment, there was a confused blur of hands, arms, legs, feet and bodies. Then something happened that left Serena standing alone in the room, everyone else unconscious.

When both Damin and Jesse landed on her, something inside her answered the unnerving energy that crawled along her skin. It spread like fire through her, snapping and crackling where Damin and Jesse touched her. It hurtled into them, carrying them into the air, then swam back into Serena, letting the two thugs fall to the floor, out cold. Then it escaped Serena's body, again, and smashed into Nikolai. Her own scream echoed his, as she felt her energy mingle with his.

He slumped suddenly, his voice dying in his throat. Serena gasped clutching her chest. The energy inside Serena had vanished, leaving her feeling slightly empty. There was no hint of energy in the room at all.

Serena glanced at where Darien lay and saw him push himself into a sitting position. As soon as he saw her, he stood in one fluid motion and walked over to her. His eyes took in the unconscious bodies, but wisely he said nothing, as he picked her up. They managed to get the door opened, and glancing around the hall, found that no one was waiting outside just in case they actually managed to get out. Serena guessed that Nikolai would regret his underestimation of her and Darien, but at the moment she was too tired to worry about it. She laid her head on Darien's chest and directed him back outside to the street.

They flagged down a taxi and after a few minutes of confusion, the taxi driver's disbelief that both Prince and Princess were actually in his cab. They told him their destination and, finally, he pulled into the traffic.

Serena let the darkness take over her, as Darien held her in the back of the taxi.

_1: prieten: Romanian for Friend._


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

* * *

Serena woke up the next morning to her head feeling like it was about to explode. She touched her face and grimaced. Her head felt like it had swollen to twice the normal size, making her neck and shoulders tense. She sighed and climbed gingerly out of bed. Every movement seemed to create a new pain in her body. Her knees and arm were also swollen and angry.

She sighed and went to the adjoining bathroom to take a shower. Washing her hair was the worst part of the whole shower, and that was saying something, since the warm water made every cut and scrape burn. Her hair had been caked with blood, dirt and foliage, and it had all hardened. It took and entire bottle of shampoo to clean the mess out, then half a bottle of conditioner to make it brushable.

When she finally climbed out of the bath, she sat in front of her vanity and began to brush her hair. The writhing masses easily swept into her customary pigtails and she tied them off, thankful to whoever invented conditioner.

She had told the girls everything when she had woken up when she and Darien got back from their adventure. The only thing she didn't tell them was about the strange power that had roared through her when Jesse and Damin had touched her. Instead, she told the girls about a fight where she was loosing, then her klutziness saved her. She knew that they would believe that, due to her more common way of defeating the bad guys because she klutzed out.

There was a soft tap on Serena's bedroom door, bringing her from her reverie.

"Come in," she called, tossing a light pink t-shirt over her head, which matched her white pants. Amy walked into the room, looking slightly uncomfortable. She was wearing a light blue pants suit and a white head-band. "Hi Ames." Serena smiled, tugging her shirt into place.

"Hi Serena." She shifted on her feet. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" Serena smiled and nodded. " Well, I noticed some inconsistencies in your story about last night. So did Raye."

Serena felt her stomach jerk. "I was tired, Ames. I probably got some of it all confused anyway, it happened so fast."

Amy nodded. "Of course. That's what I thought. But Raye thinks you're hiding something that might be important."

"Are you Raye's message girl, now?" Serena asked, feeling her temper rise. She bit her tongue. "Sorry, Ames. Raye shouldn't use you as a message service. Why didn't she come here herself?"

"I don't know." Amy shrugged.

"You guys don't have to be so uncomfortable around me." Serena frowned.

Amy sighed. "We don't trust you, Serena. I'm sorry if you feel guilty. But you pulled it on yourself." She sighed. "I'll tell Raye to come and talk to you." She turned and left the room before Serena could reply.

"Oh well." Serena muttered to the empty room. Cammie leapt into her lap, and Serena absentmindedly started petting her. "At least you aren't uncomfortable around me."

She picked up the kitten, went to the boxes of her stuff, and pulled out some cat toys, deciding to spend some time with the black fur-ball.

* * *

Darien frowned, staring at Raye. He was sitting in the study, a small nondescript room with a couple overstuffed chairs and a wall of various books. Magazines littered every table. A tiny bookshelf sat next to the door, holding the mangas that Serena had left behind. A large overstuffed chair sat next to it.

Raye was pacing back and forth in front of him. She had tied her hair back, showing her pale face to advantage and highlighting her dark brown eyes. She wore a bright red dress shirt, which was untucked and half opened, revealing a black tank top underneath. Black slacks and dress shoes finished the outfit. Darien admired her taste in clothes.

He sighed, turning his thoughts back to the matter at hand. "What do you mean, you think Serena's hiding something about last night?"

Raye nodded, looking serious. "I'm sure of it."

Darien shook his head. "No, I believe Serena. She wouldn't hide anything when its this important." He looked at Raye. "Unless you want us to keep doubting her. You are the only one that didn't want her to be princess, or Sailor Moon."

"No! It's not like that, Darien!" Raye replied, outraged. Darien sighed.

"Look, Raye, I know that you don't trust her. Remember she abandoned all of us, when she left. But I think we need to rethink the whole thing. From what you guys and she told me about the other night, she was amazing. I only wished that I had been there to see it. We need her, Raye. We need her to come home."

Raye frowned. "Darien, its not whether I trust her or not. I just _know_ she's hiding something."

At that moment, a tiny black streak erupted into the room, chasing after a jangling ball. Darien watched it, interestedly. It swatted the ball at his feet, and then charged after it. But before it got to the ball, it skidded to a halt, leapt about three feet into the air, turned, landed and bolted under a couch. Raye laughed and went down on her hands and knees to coax the little kitten out from under the couch. Darien grinned watching as the kitten kept swatting at Raye's outstretched hands.

A movement pulled his attention back to the door. Serena stood gaping at Raye. A small smile twitched her lips as she watched Raye, who didn't know Serena was staring at her.

Serena had pulled her hair into her usual pigtails. She wore a pink t-shirt lined with white and white slacks. A small black belt was threaded through the belt loops on the slacks. A pair of pale blue tennis shoes peeked out from underneath the hems of the slacks. A hint of amusement lightened her face, causing her eyes to sparkle.

Raye suddenly emerged from the kittens attack, with the small bundle in her arms, and tiny cuts marring her arms, where blood seeped slowly. Darien chuckled. Raye flashed him a grin, then saw Serena, and her grin faltered. Serena smiled.

"I see you found her. I was trying to keep up, but she got away from me."

"You should keep her in your room. I don't think Luna met her yet." Raye told Serena, as she handed the kitten to her. Serena's smile vanished.

"You don't have to tell me what to do, Raye."

"She was making a suggestion." Darien said. Serena turned to face him, her eyes widening. She hadn't realized he was there. Darien sighed, knowing that Serena would most likely make the worst of it.

"Oh. I'm sorry Cammie and I interrupted." She turned and strode from the room. Yep, she made the worst of it. Darien stood to follow her, but Raye stopped him.

"Let me." She growled, storming after Serena. Darien shook his head. From bad to worse. He followed both girls quickly. After a few minutes, he found them in the hall to Serena's room.

"You are a selfish little ingrate, Serena!" Raye snapped.

"And you are a control freak!" Serena snarled.

"You shouldn't have run away like a little child!" Raye shouted. "You left us all hanging, we needed you and you ran!"

"If you guys had all accepted me, then-"

"You should try to accept yourself, instead of trying to prove something to us, or blaming it all on us. You were the one that ran away when you klutzed out. You were the one that didn't take responsibility. You are the one that shut us all out. That was all you Serena. None of us told you to leave. None of us told you to freak out."

"But-"

"Shut up, Serena! Just shut up. We _all_ have problems. None of us ran away from them. Do you think I wanted to be Sailor Mars?" Raye looked up for a second. Her voice softened as she spoke again, and Darien thought she was on the verge of crying. "I wanted and want a normal life, Serena. But it's not our destiny. We were meant to save the world, we were meant to protect it from all evil." She took a deep breath. "You need to stop thinking only of yourself." Then she turned and stormed to her room, slamming the door behind her as she escaped inside. Serena stood alone in the hall. Darien saw the tears falling down her face just before she turned toward him.

He quickly melted into the shadows, hoping Serena hadn't seen him. Raye was right. Serena needed to learn it. He couldn't let her use him to wipe it all away and act like it didn't happen.

Serena stared down the hall where he stood, not looking at him, but past him. Then she turned and went to her room.

A soft click echoed in the hall.

* * *

Serena didn't leave her room until after noon. During which time, she purposely did not think about what Raye said. She played with Cammie until the kitten passed out on the bed, then read some of her manga. She had to search through her box for a specific manga and once she found it, read it through twice. The manga had been about vampires, and she hoped that it was true information; otherwise she was in trouble.

After she left her room, she went to the kitchens got a snack then went to the library to look for any books on the subject. The library had shelves of books from floor to ceiling. It was also the dimmest and quietest room in the palace. Dark green velvet drapes hang on either side of the huge windows that looked out to the gardens. One window had a French door placed into it, leading to a small balcony, whose stairs lead to the main part of the garden. Why does everyone get so quiet in a library? Even when they own it? Serena wondered, trying to walk quietly.

Amy and Lita were there, apparently deep in discussion. Lita was dressed casually, short white shorts and a green tank top with a white sports bra underneath. Amy was dressed the same as she had been when she came to Serena's room. As soon as they noticed Serena, they stopped talking.

"Don't let me interrupt. I'm just looking something up." Serena smiled, going to the computer that Amy had set up with cross-references about the subject, title, and author of the books in the library.

Amy moved to look over her shoulder. "What are you looking for?"

"Information." Serena said as she scanned through each of the titles on the computer screen. Most of the books that the computer had pulled up were romances concerning vampires, and those were very few. One book was an encyclopedia that had references to vampires. Another book was on mythology. She clicked on the title and read the summary of the book, then shook her head as she clicked the back button.

"We have one book on vampires. It's also a mythological book, but it has some useful information." Amy said peering at the screen. She walked to one of the bookcases and pulled a thick black book down. "I've already read it." She put it on the computer table next to the monitor.

"Anything useful in it?" Serena asked, staring at the book like it was her worst enemy. It was huge. Had to be around five hundred pages. She sighed, opening the book and glancing at the pages.

"Not really." Amy sat down next to Serena. "Lita and I were just discussing it."

"Yeah. It talks about how to kill a vampire, and various other things. But it was written in the 1500s. We don't know how useful it will be against these guys. We don't even know if that is all fiction or not." Lita said, moving to sit on the other side of Serena. She pulled the book into her lap and flipped some pages over, then handed it back to Serena. "That describes what to do to kill one, and to protect yourself from one."

"A glove of garlic?" Serena glanced up at the two girls with a slight frown. "We're supposed to wear garlic?" In her mind's eye, she saw herself going to another dinner with the delegates wearing a necklace of clover. In the image, the delegates stayed clear away from her and wondered about her mental state. She sighed, looking at the book again. "You've got to be kidding."

"We have to come up with a plan for tonight, just in case they come after you and Darien again." Lita said. Serena closed the book with a thud.

"Well, Raye's fire seems to work really well, maybe we should just lure them up and have her fire them." Serena stated quickly.

"Nah. She can only do that a couple times in a certain space of time. Besides she would have to concentrate on one at a time. What if they come with an army?" Lita asked, leaning her back in the chair. She pulled her leg up, setting her foot on the edge of the seat, and wrapped her arms around it. The movement showed her long legs to advantage, and she knew it. She smiled at Serena.

"Well, then we need lots of fire." Serena stated.

"Usually, if you want fire, you are talking about me." Raye complained from the doorway.

"Hi guys, we were looking all over for you." Mina said coming into the room behind Raye. She was wearing an orange skirt and white tank top She smiled and approached the computer table, pulled out a chair, and sat down on it. "Making a plan yet?"

"Yeah." Lita said, grinning at Mina. "Serena already tried to volunteer Raye for toasting duty."

"I think not!" Raye snapped, glaring at Serena. Serena tried to force her face to a blank expression as she looked at Raye. .

"We decided not to use you." She said. Raye looked like she was getting madder.

"You shouldn't just volunteer people without their knowledge. I thought you grew up some!" Raye snarled. Serena felt her temper flare.

"You shouldn't be a bossy know-it-all!"

"Quit being such a whiner!"

"Stop being so snobby!"

"Well, you can tell Serena's back." Serena heard Lita mutter to Amy.

They all began looking over the book, though Amy commentated. Then began to make plans as to what to do if Nikolai came to call that night.

* * *

Serena glanced over her shoulder at the palace as she climbed into Raye's car. The jeep matched Raye's personality, fiery red. Serena buckled herself into her seat and glanced at Raye, who looked aggravated.

"What?" Serena asked.

"I don't think this is going to work." Raye mumbled as she shifted into gear and pulled out onto the main road.

"Why?" Serena asked. Raye glanced at her, her eyes looked black in the darkness.

"Because, I just have a feeling."

Serena shrugged, looking out her window. "It won't matter. If it works it works and we nail the bad guys, again. If it doesn't then it wont and we will come up with Plan B."

"How can you be so calm about it? You're bait."

"Because, there isn't much use in me complaining about it. I mean, weren't you always telling me to suck it up and deal with it." Serena turned slightly in her seat so she was slightly facing Raye.

"Yeah. But I never thought it would actually happen."

Serena glanced out the back of the window. "Well, I thought that you all thought I had changed." A pair of headlights caught her attention. The car was driving very carefully a few cars behind Raye's jeep. "We have company."

"I know. They've been behind us since we left the palace. I didn't think they would even try to follow us until full dark. I don't think the others are ready. Let's make sure they are following us." Raye cut across to an inner turning lane, cutting off a black suburban who angrily honked at Raye's driving. Serena wondered if she should flip them the bird, but decided that since Raye had done it on purpose it would be rude.

Glancing back through the rearview window, Serena saw the car go straight. "Nope. They went straight."

"Well, lets wait a moment, I did that hurriedly, and maybe they are a little more careful. Can you tell what kind of car it was?" She glanced at Serena, who looked at her thoughtfully.

"Economy car. I think it was silver, it looked brown though."

"Economy car? You'd think they would be like the vampires in the movies; loaded." Raye said. Serena grinned.

"It would be nice to have a steady supply of money."

"You do." Raye frowned.

"Oh, yeah." Serena giggled. She was beginning to feel nervous butterflies in her stomach. "Oh, Darien wants me to get some new gowns tomorrow. He called a seamstress to come to the Palace."

"That should be interesting." Raye sounded bored.

"How come it had to be you?" Serena asked, starting to get frustrated. "You aren't into fashion, like Mina, and you are so totally not into gossip, like Lita."

"Well, because unlike Mina or Lita, it seems my powers have a definite impact on your friends."

"They aren't my friends!" Serena snapped. "Besides, we haven't tried Mina or Lita's power on them."

"It wasn't a good idea to test the theory that one of their powers could work or not on vampires in this mission, Serena."

Serena frowned and leaned back into the seat. She crossed her arms over her chest, then remembered that she was supposed to be watching thought the back window for the car. She moved slightly so she could look back. The car was back. This time not hiding the fact that they were following Raye's jeep. She told Raye, who sighed.

"This isn't good."

"What?"

"The car next to us has also been moving with us since the palace. I think they are going to change our plans."

Serena's pulse jumped.

"What do you mean?"

"I think we are going to be forced to do things their way."

Serena glanced out her window just as the car next to them swerved toward them. Apparently, it was trying to force Raye to turn.

"Hold on!" Raye bit her lip, and floored the gas petal. The little jeep leapt forward, but not fast enough. The car that was beside them smashed into the back bumper, throwing the jeep into a roll. Serena's heart was jammed into her throat and her head felt light as Raye hit the brakes, swinging the car around to face the opposite direction they had been going.

For the first time, Serena realized that they had managed to drive right out of town. Trees were on either side of the road. The only lights came from Raye's jeep and the two cars that had been following Serena and Raye. One of which had flipped completely over and was sitting on its hood.

"Crap! Are you alright?" Raye asked, looking at Serena.

"Yeah, I think so."

"This isn't good, Serena." She shifted gears. "We can't follow your plan." The jeep began to accelerate.

Suddenly, a little girl appeared in the headlights of the jeep.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

Suddenly, a little girl appeared in the jeep's headlights. Serena had a blurred image of brown hair and eyes, a blue school shirt and skirt, before Raye twisted the wheel hard, throwing the jeep completely off the road. Serena's head cracked on her window, causing the world to go black for a second. The sounds of metal screaming and crunching filled her ears. The few seconds, in which the jeep hit the surrounding shrubbery, seemed to last forever.

The next thing Serena knew, the passenger side door had been ripped completely off, and hands were reaching for her. She unsnapped the seatbelt and threw herself into the backseat.

Raye moaned from the driver's seat, then screamed as her door was also ripped off its hinges. Serena reached around the seat to Raye's seatbelt and unsnapped it, then grabbed one of Raye's arms, which launched Raye into a new fit of screams. Abruptly, Raye was gone. Serena hurled herself back into the backseat, then slid to the floor boards.

Serena could hear her heartbeat in her ears, which sounded impossibly loud. Her throat felt tight and her vision kept blurring when she moved. She tried to listen over her heartbeat for Raye, but there was only silence. For a wild moment, she wondered if whatever had attacked them had left.

She moved very carefully back into the seat and peered out the window at complete darkness. Forcing herself to take deep calming breaths, she climbed back into the front seat, then out of the car.

Glancing around, she wondered how far Raye had thrown them from the road in her attempt to avoid the small girl. She couldn't see the road at all. Of course, that might have been because after a few yards, her vision blurred. Or because it was so dark.

Her mind seemed completely numb. Dimly, she realized that they had Raye, and that wasn't good, but she couldn't seem to feel anything about it. She walked a few feet wondering where she was, and how to get back to the palace. But her mind was a jumble of thoughts.

She was on her knees but didn't remember how she got there. Her stomach lurched and she threw up on the ground in front of her. Forcing, herself to her feet, she thought she heard something move to her left.

"Don't fight us, or we kill your friend." A cold voice spoke from the darkness. Serena froze, without really knowing why.

"I… don't think… I can fight." She told the voice, her own was breathless. She couldn't seem to get enough air. She tried to look around but her body didn't seem to want to move.

"Don't listen to them, Serena!" Raye shouted from the same area. There was fear and pain in her voice, but otherwise she sounded all right.

"Let her go… and I won't… fight." Serena called into the shadows, trying to keep herself standing. Her mind didn't seem to want to focus, but she knew she should get Raye free, at least. Her head felt like it was about to explode, but at the same time, the pain seemed far away, as if she wasn't actually experiencing it.

A man stepped from the shadows. Serena couldn't make him out in the darkness, all she could tell was that he was a man. Her eyes were fading more persistently, and she knew if she was going to get Raye's freedom, she had to do it soon.

"Let her go." Serena told him. He walked casually up to her until he stood about a foot away.

"Take her up to the road and flag down a car. Get her in it and get her gone." He told the shadows over his shoulder. There was a flurry of moment. After a few seconds, Serena knew that she and the man were alone next to the wrecked jeep.

Serena felt the world sliding away. She couldn't feel her legs any more, and was barely aware of falling forward as her legs gave way. She felt arms catch her before she hit the ground, and had the sensation of being picked up.

Something was sweeping her hair away from her face and neck. "It's alright. You're alright." A voice kept saying over and over, then darkness swept everything away.

* * *

Serena woke in a white room. The bed beneath her was hard and uncomfortable. A flimsy blanket was draped over her. There was a strange beeping that barely registered in her consciousness at first, but slowly became louder as she rose from the darkness. Her head hurt. She tried to shift and found out that she was restrained to the bed; straps ran across her chest, stomach, thighs and ankles. Her wrists were tied down as well.

The beeping was becoming annoying. She glanced around and found a monitor with a black screen, grid, and waveform on it.

She came fully awake at that moment. "Let me out of here!" She screamed.

Instantly, people in white clothing burst into the room. Two men grabbed her legs and pushed them into the bed, while two more pushed her shoulders into the bed as well.

"It's alright, Princess. We'll just give you a shot to relax you."

"Why am I tied down?" She asked, hoping against hope that the people in the room were doctors.

"You're fully awake?" A man asked from behind the four people holding her down.

"Yeah, my head feels like it's going to explode. Can you turn that beeping off?"

"Let her go." He told the others. "I'm sorry, Princess. Your heart stopped twice after you came in here, the beeping is the heart monitor. And no, we can't turn it off."

"Fine. Why am I tied down?"

"Yesterday you went into an extreme seizure, and threw two of my nurses into walls."

"I'm sorry." Serena said, wondering about the two people she had unintentionally hurt. "Are they alright?"

"Yes. We can untie you now." The man said. "Would you like to see your family? They are in the waiting room."

"Yeah." Serena said, as the straps were loosened, then pulled off of her. She sat up and rubbed her arms. The doctor nodded, smiling.

"Aren't you going to ask what happened?" He asked, still smiling.

"Car accident."

"Yeah, we thought so. But you were found in the park, no car in sight." He picked up a clipboard and studied it for a moment. "You suffered from a major concussion, blood loss, internal bleeding, and a very badly lacerated neck." He glanced up. "Must have been one wild ride."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Serena said, feeling very tired. "How long was I unconscious?"

"Almost a week." Serena felt her heart stop. She stared at the doctor, shocked.

"A week?"

"Yes." He said, still smiling. "I'll send your family in now." He left the room, closely followed by the other four men. Serena moved until her legs dangled off the bed. Her entire body felt sore, but not as bad as what she had expected when he read off the list of injuries.

A few moments later, her mother, father, and brother entered the room. All looked pale, worried and tired. They stared at Serena as if they didn't know what to say.

"Hi. Bring any food?" Serena asked, deciding to try to get them to laugh. Her mother and Sammy giggled. Her father frowned.

"You almost die, and all you can think of is food?" He asked dumbfounded. Serena grinned at him.

"What would I be if I didn't want food?"

"Dead?" Sammy asked, smiling at his sister.

Serena nodded. "If I ask for food, it means I'm going to be all right, doesn't it?"

That got a smile from her father. "I'm glad you're alright, Serena." He moved to the bed and gave her a tight hug.

"Ok, dad, I can't breathe." Serena groaned, slightly embarrassed. "I mean, Geez. Here I am, barely surviving death and my own father comes into the hospital room and tries to kill me." She pushed him slightly away, and was surprised to see tears in his eyes. Sammy and her mom hugged her as well, but shorter. Serena wondered momentarily if some aliens had kidnapped her now teenage brother. He started to blush furiously, which told Serena that she was staring. She turned back to her parents, who started asking questions about what happened. Serena told them an edited version of what happened, basically the full story minus being followed and vampires. For, Serena was sure that that was what the people were.

Finally, they left the room, and Darien and the girls filed in. Serena's eyes sought out Raye. Raye looked bad, the side of her face looked almost as bad as Serena's after she had been thrown into the pavement a few times. Raye's arm, which had been in a sling, was now in a cast. As she explained, apparently, she had also gotten a concussion and broke her forearm in the process of trying to stop herself from being broken in half. She also had a couple broken ribs.

"The weird thing is that I don't think that they are involved with Nikolai." Said Amy, "I mean, when Nikolai captured you his thugs took you to him. These guys attacked you on the spot. I think there is more to this than any of us know."

"Then I need to find Nikolai and find out what is going on." Serena said, her throat felt raw, and sore. She shifted uncomfortably and stared at the others in the room.

"I don't think that is a good idea." Darien said, frowning.

"Why?" Serena asked. "I mean, he didn't seem to want to hurt us… ok, well, not really. Whereas these new guys do. Maybe he knows who they were, and what they were after. I mean, they didn't kill me, and I bet they could have. The man that seemed to command the others felt really old."

"I think Serena's right. We need to talk to Nikolai, but I think that we all should go as backup. Best if we go as the scouts." Raye said suddenly, everyone went quiet while she talked. "We have to figure out what's going on. Why is everyone suddenly interested in Serena?"

"I could transform, but I'm not sure if that would help any." Serena said.

"I don't think it matters, Serena. The world knows who we are, so it wouldn't matter if we went as scouts or as ourselves." Mina stated, from her perch on the edge of Serena's bed.

"Actually, it does, Mina. As the scouts, we can call our powers more easily than we can as ourselves." Amy replied.

Serena nodded. "We need to figure out when I can get out, send someone as messenger for a meeting with Nikolai and figure out where to meet." She sighed and stared out the window. "I don't want to meet where civilians would get hurt or pay for it later."

"The park." Darien said, he didn't look too happy with the way the plans were going, but he also looked resigned. "Personally, I think we should kill them all, and get it over with. But Raye and Serena are right, we need the information."

"Most likely they have others watching the delegates, we can scout one of them out, and find out if it's a vampire or not, then give the message to them." Luna added thoughtfully.

"I agree. If they are a vampire they should go back to their hideouts during the day." Artemis said. "Luna and I can watch them."

"I think it will take more than just the two of you to watch the delegates' people. There might be other delegates that have been transformed already. We should watch them too. I think all of us should be in on watch duty." Lita said.

"I can't help. I'm stuck here." Serena shook her head with a frown.

"Actually, when I talked to the doctors they said that you were almost completely healed. They were really surprised with the rate that you are healing. They told me you could leave at any time after noon." Darien stated.

"Ok. We need to get the watch out then. It might take a couple days, Serena, so don't expect much when you get home tonight." Luna said. The girls all stood.

"Well, see you later Serena." They said almost simultaneously before following Luna and Artemis out into the hall. The door snapped closed.

"I really don't think this is a good idea, Serena." Darien said, staring at the door after the girls.

"We don't have much of a choice, Darien. I promise to be careful." She sighed. "Wont you be there as Tuxedo Mask?"

Darien nodded, "But I still don't think this is a good idea. We didn't exactly leave Nikolai's custody freely. He might not want to let you go free, again."

Serena sighed. "That's why we're going in force, at least I think that's why. I don't think he would want to fight me and the scouts."

"Let's hope you're right."

* * *

Serena stood nonchalantly on the bridge in the park two days later. She glanced over her shoulder at the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask, who had arranged themselves behind her, Raye stood only a few feet from her. The cast on her arm had made her glove look oddly shaped. It was almost midnight, which was when they had agreed to meet Nikolai.

Luna and Artemis had found a vampire in one of the delegates' servants, and had sent the message to Nikolai. They received the response that morning, arranging for that night at midnight. It was signed, Nikolai.

Serena shifted in the cool breeze, and glanced around as the church bell tolled midnight. Nothing stirred in the darkness. Serena tried to peer through the shadows to see if anyone was there, but the night was too dark and as another disadvantage there was no moon.

Serena started to turn and call the whole thing off, when someone moved in the shadows behind them. She motioned toward the darkness, staring.

Nikolai stepped out of the shrubbery and approached cautiously, surrounded by Syrese, Jesse, Damin, and Laryn, plus several others. Serena counted quickly and knew that the vampires had them outnumbered. She thought silently of the fact that she should have told him to only bring a certain number of followers to even things out. Damn!

Mars and the other Scouts moved directly in front of Serena, as Tuxedo Mask moved to stand beside Serena.

"Greetings, Princess Serena." Nikolai called in the darkness. Serena shivered at the sound of his voice. The moment he had spoken, she felt like something soft and warm had wrapped around her. When he stopped speaking, the feeling was gone. She heard the nearly inaudible gasps of the Scouts as Nikolai stepped into the little light of the area, leaving Serena wondering if they had felt his voice as well, or if they were surprised at how much he looked like Darien.

"Cut the sweet talk, we need information." Jupiter, no doubt, but since Serena couldn't see her talk, she didn't know for sure.

"I heard of the attack on you Princess. Please come forward, I need to see you."

"Why?" Serena asked, feeling Tuxedo Mask stiffen beside her.

"I need to make sure that during the attack, you were not marked."

"Marked?" Serena asked. "Is this a joke or a trick? I know you cant be happy that Darien and I escaped you intact."

"No, no joke or trick. As for your escape, we will discuss that another day." Nikolai said. He waved a hand minutely at his people then stepped forward, right up to Mars, who had started to shiver. Serena wondered if Raye was getting slightly freaked. Nikolai looked down at her and frowned. "Remember that I asked for your assistance at one point. Well, you have met my problem."

"You mean those vampires?" Serena asked.

"We are Strigoi." Nikolai corrected, almost automatically. "And yes, they are the problem that I sought your help about." He looked back up at Serena. "We're you bitten?"

"No. I was in a car accident…" Serena paused. Her hand drifted up to her neck, as if by its own accord. "They made Raye swerve off the road, then pulled her out of the jeep. I followed, and they threatened her if I didn't go with them quietly. I was too… I don't remember anything after I said ok." Serena said honestly. She rubbed the bandages over her throat. The rip at her throat was the only thing that hadn't healed quickly. Everything else, including the scrapes she had gotten on her face, during the brawl with Nikolai's thugs, were almost completely healed.

Mars nodded. "It's true. I was with her when it happened."

"Ah, and where we're you after they had let you go?" Nikolai asked, his voice held something Serena couldn't name as he glanced back at Mars.

"I was thrown into a car and taken to the hospital!" Mars snapped, indignant. Nikolai stared at her for a moment before turning back to Serena.

"Let me see the wound." He demanded. Serena frowned.

"Don't order me around." She told him.

"Fine, whatever. Don't be difficult." He replied, trying to look bored. Serena sighed and stepped forward, between Jupiter and Venus, to stand next to Nikolai. Tuxedo Mask moved with Serena and stared over her head at Nikolai. Nikolai frowned. "Your bodyguards are very loyal, but they are not needed. You asked for help, I offer it."

"Yeah, but at what price." Jupiter said.

"The only thing I ask is for your help in return."

"What help?" Asked Mercury, looking interested.

"With the group of vampires that attacked your Princess."

"Why would you want her help for that? Surely you can take care of your own problems." Tuxedo Mask stated with a hint of anger in his voice.

"They aren't rogue. Strigoi can only, as you say, _take care of_ their own kind if they become rogue and threaten to reveal our existence to the world. What I want is information. I want to know why they are here, what they want, that is all." Nikolai said, he frowned at Tuxedo Mask. "Show me the wound." He told Serena.

Serena sighed, gripped the edge of the bandage and jerked. She flinched as it ripped at the tender skin around the cuts on her neck. Nikolai started to reach out a hand toward her neck, when Tuxedo Mask grabbed Serena's shoulders and pulled her against him. Serena gasped at the sudden movement. Warmth spread from Tuxedo Mask through her, she felt herself relax against him.

"Don't touch her." Tuxedo Mask growled.

"I have to find out if she was Marked, or just bitten." Nikolai stated.

"Do you have to touch her to find out?" Venus asked, moving to stand shoulder to shoulder with Tuxedo Mask.

"Do not worry, I cannot transform her with just a touch. I need to touch her, she will have the remains of the vampires energy on her if she is marked."

"It's energy?" Mars asked, with a frown.

"Look, we can chat about Strigoi politics, history, and habits some other time, but right now we need to get information about what is going on." Nikolai growled, losing his patience. "Either we help each other or I take off and let you deal with my problem on your own."

"Ok." Serena said, stepping forward. Nikolai looked at her with a look of curiosity on his face, before his eyes moved back to her neck. He touched the cut on her neck gently. Serena closed her eyes, expecting pain. She felt his fingertips trace the outline of the tears then ran casually up her neck into her hair, pulling it from its pigtails. Serena's eyes snapped open and she stared into a face that looked so much like Darien's.

Suddenly, Tuxedo Mask pulled her away from Nikolai again, and pushed Serena behind himself. He stood face to face with Nikolai, his mouth turned down in what looked like a painful frown.

"Is she Marked?" Tuxedo Mask growled, after a few seconds.

Nikolai glowered at Tuxedo Mask. "Yes."

Serena stared. "You're joking." She said, feeling her heart jump into her throat. "Does that mean that I'm gonna turn into a vampire?"

Nikolai looked around Tuxedo Mask at Serena. "Unfortunately, no."

"How is that unfortunate, at least she wont become one of you!" Mars snapped.

"No, she wont become one of us, she will become a servant. A Strigoi's eyes and ears during the day. She will be ageless as if she was one of us. She will never grow old, never die, but she will forever answer to the Strigoi that made her his servant." Nikolai said. He sounded tired. "You have to destroy the Strigoi before it marks you again."

"Again? How many times does it have to mark her? Do you guys make people servants the same way they make others of your kind?" Mercury asked interestedly.

"No. There are three different marks for both the servant and to turn someone. For a Strigoi to turn someone they have to feed three times then give their blood after the third feeding. To make a servant, first mark is feeding, which is the giving of blood to the master, the second is rolling the mind, which is the giving of the past, present and future, and the third is the sharing of the blood, which is the showing of a union. The third mark between servant and master is a marriage of sorts." Nikolai told Mercury. He watched her with a little than more interest than Serena thought was appropriate. But he only seemed to watch Mercury for her reaction, because he turned back to Serena. "You have the first mark, the giving of the blood. He had labeled you as his."

"He? How do you know it's a he?" Venus asked, looking surprised.

"A Strigoi leaves their energy on their servants. It's like a tag that you would put on a favorite pet. The tag says the name, and address and to return the pet. When this mark gives his energy as a signature, but it tells me very little, only that he is a he, and that he is very much older than I am." Nikolai frowned. Serena was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Her head felt light and her heartbeat thundered in her ears. She was a servant! To a vampire none-the-less.

She felt Nikolai's violet eyes settle on her. "What happens if I don't kill him before he gives me the second mark?"

"You would become a servant, in mind and blood, at least. Not a true servant, but a servant none-the-less." Nikolai told her.

"And what if I kill him after he gives me the second mark?" She asked him.

"You could die, as well."


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

If Serena hadn't wanted to become princess or Sailor Moon, she definitely didn't want to become a vampire's slave. Sailor Mercury had asked Nikolai a lot of questions after he had told her the information about this new threat to her. But Serena hadn't heard most of it. Her mind was full of thoughts about wanting to leave again, or killing the new vampire, or anything she could do to stop the transformation from happening.

They had left Nikolai shortly after Mercury finished, and went back to the palace. After the Scouts and Tuxedo Mask changed back into Raye, Lita, Amy, Mina, and Darien, Darien took Serena aside and poured her a small brandy. He handed it to her quietly and waited while she downed it.

"A week ago, I thought that vampires didn't exist, and now all the sudden, I have to either become one's slave or kill it." Serena muttered, after drinking the foul liquid. The warmth of the brandy flowed through her, burning her throat and her stomach, and setting her nerves on fire. Darien calmly filled her drink again, still not talking. Serena frowned at him. "Getting me drunk wont help you know." But she downed the second glass anyway, then put the cup down.

"I honestly don't know what to say to be of any comfort, Serena. I don't know how to help you, at all." Darien said, shaking his head. "But I think Amy got some information from Nikolai that we should hear."

"Right now I don't want to hear anything else. I don't even want to think about it." Serena stated, glancing over at Amy. Darien followed her gaze and nodded.

"You can go to your room and sleep." Darien suggested.

"No. I don't want to be alone." He looked at her with a frown. "I don't know what I want." Serena said. She raised her hand to rub her temples.

"Well, lets go ahead and find out what Amy learned then we can go for a stroll around the palace. I don't think you have seen it all since you got back, and you might like some of the modifications that Raye designed." Serena looked at Darien through her fingers, feeling jealous again, but shook it off and followed him to where the girls sat.

"Well, it turns out that he didn't know that the Romanian Delegate was attacking people. He knew about the other attacks, but they supposedly aren't his people, which is why he sent for Serena." Amy was saying. "He figured out that there was another vampire or vampires in the area. But since they aren't killing a lot of people, and have actually stopped since Serena came back, he says that they aren't considered rogue."

"Rogue means that they threaten to reveal themselves to the world, so a lot of killings would do that?" Lita asked.

"Yes. Think about it, if a bunch of killings started, and they were all linked by certain clues, they would figure out who the murderer is and capture it. If it was a vampire, well, they sleep during the day in coffins, don't they, if he was in a cell that happened to be facing a window. It would be sure to be all over the news." Amy replied.

"What about the attacks to the delegates, I mean they aren't being murdered, but wouldn't the entire world be watching the whole thing, waiting for someone to get caught?" Mina asked.

Amy nodded, "Yeah, that's what I was thinking, and I asked him, he said that it is only considered rogue if they kill."

"That's stupid though, I mean, they are getting a lot of publicity, and drawing attention to themselves through the attacks, so why shouldn't that be considered rogue?" Raye asked.

Amy shrugged. "Nikolai said that he had contacted the council to double check the law. Maybe they will figure it out and add a new amendment to it."

"You actually believe him?" Serena asked, feeling exhausted and somewhat surprised about the way Amy was taking Nikolai's statements seriously. "We don't know if he's controlling the vampire that attacked me. He seemed to know a lot about it."

"No, Serena. I am certain that he has nothing to do with the attack on you, or the attacks on the ambassadors." Amy said, watching Serena.

"Well, I don't know about you, Ames, but I think he's playing with us." Serena growled, before turning on her heel and leaving the room.

Darien caught up with her in the hall. "Believe it or not, Serena, but I think you're right."

Serena smiled at him, feeling a little better knowing he agreed with her. "Thanks Darien. It means a lot to know that you believe me."

Darien caught her arm. "You know I do, Serena."

Serena sighed. She hadn't realized that she had lifted her hand to her throat, but felt the roughness of the bandage beneath her fingers as her eyes fell on Darien's throat. "Uh, Darien… we should have had Nikolai check your neck wound." She felt a small wave of panic slide through her. Darien's face paled.

"Could it be the same vampire?" He asked.

"I don't know." Serena said, wondering the same thing. "We need to be very careful. With the two of us in bad shape, we need to stay away from windows or anything else that leads outside for the time being."

Darien nodded. "I'm sorry, Serena."

Serena smiled again, then feeling tired, headed for her room for some much needed sleep.

* * *

Darien sat on the edge of his bed, holding his head in his hands. The thought that he could end up being a vampire's servant disturbed him. He didn't remember much about the attack on him, except for being with Raye at the time. He tried to recall exactly what was said, and any other noises he could have heard in the vicinity, but it was a distant memory and was clouded. He shook his head, feeling his hair run through his fingers.

His door swung open slowly, groaning on hinges that needed to be oiled. Luna stepped into his room and stared at him. "I'm sorry to bother you, Darien. But I noticed that when you came back, after Serena went to bed, you looked really pale." She said. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, Luna." He glanced over at her. "I'm just tired and worried."

"Is it Serena?"

"Yes and no. Yes because what is happening to us, and how much interest is in her, and no because there is another problem that I didn't want the other girls to know about. At least, I didn't want to talk about it with them at the moment." He stood up and began pacing. He rubbed the bandage on his neck and glanced at Luna. "Do you remember my attack?" Luna nodded silently. "Well, Serena brought up the point that I may have been marked as well." He shook his head. "I'm not really worried about that, but what I am worried about is that maybe the other emissaries who were attacked, may have also been marked."

A surprised expression rolled across Luna's face. "I never thought of that." She said, her voice soft. "The girls need to know. Maybe we can hire more guards for the ambassadors so the chances will lower of them getting attacked again."

"Did Amy find out if all vampires can get servants, or how many servants one vampire can have?" Darien asked, raising the hand that had been rubbing the bandage, to his forehead.

Luna frowned, "I don't know, I'll ask her."

Darien rubbed his forehead, thoughtfully, for a moment. "Yeah, do that, I think I will go to bed."

He stood and opened the door to his room. Luna nodded and went into the hall. "Goodnight, Darien."

"You, too, Luna." He closed his door and went back to his bed. After staring at it for a few minutes, he shook his head and left his room. He couldn't sleep. His mind was too active. But maybe a walk would help work off some of that energy.

* * *

Serena couldn't sleep. She had been tossing and turning since she had turned out the lights. A glance at the clock next to her told her it was almost one in the morning. She sighed and sat up.

The room was almost absolutely black, except for the light under her door and the clock. Her gauzy pink curtains had been exchanged for heavier ones and were closed, the door to her patio had been locked, along with all the other windows in her room that could be opened. She had even taken the precaution of locking her door to the hall, though she doubted that was necessary. But she was starting to think that it was better to be safe than sorry.

She wondered if the girls had come up with a plan, yet.

Finally, knowing that sleep was about as likely as the vampire to appear in her room, she stood up and grabbed a robe. She opened her door and stepped into the semi-lit hall. Then, deciding to get a book from the library, began to walk.

The palace was silent and almost eerie. Shadows stood in odd places and Serena began to watch them for moments, but they didn't move. She was beginning to wonder if she was paranoid when the door to the study opened and Darien stepped from the room, closely followed by Raye, who was wearing her cherry red robe. Darien was still wearing the clothes from earlier, though they were crumpled. Serena ducked into the shadows without really knowing why.

Darien turned to Raye and grinned. "Thanks for staying up with me. I feel better now." He cupped Raye's face, and kissed her lightly on the forehead. Serena felt tears sting her eyes as he continued to speak. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't kept me going, after Serena left."

Raye stepped up into him, and wrapped her arms around him. "No problem, that's what friends are for. Besides, you were pacing up and down our hall, and I didn't want you to wake Serena. I think she's having a hard time dealing with everything." She raised her head and looked up at Darien. They stood together for a few moments, then Raye backed up and giggled nervously. "Well, I hope you can sleep now." She turned and strode past where Serena stood.

Darien watched her for a few moments, then shook his head and went back into the study. The door closed behind him, and Serena let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

Tears rolled silently down her cheeks, and for a moment she thought about confronting Darien. But in truth, it made it easier for her to leave when everything was done. And she really couldn't blame him for going to Raye when she had left. It wasn't her business.

But it sure hurt like hell.

* * *

Serena went back to her rooms and got dressed quickly, this time in complete black. She wanted to get this done and over with, then she could get away from everything that was going on. She wouldn't stand between Raye and Darien if they really wanted to get back together, and if she was stopping them, she didn't want the guilt.

She pulled a black cap over her head, tucking her blond hair into it, then kissed Cammie's forehead with a hushed, "I'll be back as soon as I can." The kitten's only response was to yawn, stretch and go back to snoring. Serena smiled and slipped from her room.

* * *

The streets of New Tokyo were light up brightly. Flashing neon signs announced various bars, stores, dance halls on the streets, but Serena was looking for only one. She had been there once before, but couldn't clearly remember where it was.

She had hot-wired Raye's new jeep, which Raye had gotten right after she found out her old one had been totaled, and drove around New Tokyo for almost an hour looking for Limbo Dance Hall, when she finally spotted the semi-familiar sign. She found a parking spot and pulled the wires apart. No sense in wasting gas, though she wondered for a moment if it would be better to leave the jeep running so that she could make a quick get away if she needed to. She shrugged.

She climbed from the car and walked up to the entrance, where a line of people stood. Most of the people in line were dressed in black leather, and chains. One woman had a black leather cat suit that had holes over her breasts and crotch, revealing them to the world. Serena didn't blush though; she had seen similar stuff in the United States.

A bodybuilder stepped into the way before Serena could walk into the door. She sized him up, and feeling the creepy feeling that she was beginning to associate with vampires, knew he was one, but a young one, maybe ten years dead. He was bald, black, and tall. Serena had to crane her neck to look up at him. Six and a half feet at least. He was wearing a tiny black cotton tank top that looked like he had to pour it on to get it to fit. Black jeans, black cowboy boots, and a thick black belt completed his outfit.

"You can't go in, Miss." He said, his dark eyes rolling over Serena, taking in her almost burglar suit.

"Tell Nikolai that Serena is here." The black man's eyes widened and he nodded. He motioned to another bodybuilder to take his place and went inside. The second bodybuilder could have been the black man's twin, except for the fact he was Japanese. Serena frowned at him. He glared back.

Finally, Serena rolled her eyes and scanned the crowd. Too many of the couples seemed to be completely unaware of the fact that they were in a crowd, or they didn't care, because they were too busy making out. Other people were dancing to the faint chords of music that wafted through the building walls, or dancing to imaginary music.

Serena sighed, feeling impatient. She was about to barge past the new bodybuilder when the black man came back outside. He motioned her to follow and she quickly did. They weaved through couples, which looked to be of the same crowd as those outside, dancing in strobe lights and thundering music. If Serena had realized that it was going to be that loud inside the building she would have brought earplugs.

Her eyes were beginning to see spots, due to the blinding flashing of the strobe light, when they finally went through a side door, marked 'management'. The room she entered was similar to the one that she and Darien had seen when they had been brought there the first time.

Nikolai sat behind the desk that had to have been the one from the other room. He looked like he was posing. He wore a vivid royal blue shirt with fills at the cuff and neck. He had left it unbuttoned down to the tops of his pants, though it was tucked into the black pants. The shirt accented the pale skin of his chest and made his eyes seem even redder than usual. His pants had to have been painted on, a black glossy material that accented everything from waist down. Shiny black knee-high boots completed his outfit and were draped, half-crossed, on his desk. His fingers were steepled under his chin. His eyes watched her and for a moment, all Serena could do was stare. He looked like every woman's wet dream, and it the expression on his face said that he knew it.

The door closed behind Serena and she forced herself to swallow. "Hello, Nikolai, I didn't know you were the manager of Limbo."

He grinned. "Yes, I am. I also own it. What do you think of it?"

"It looks more like an orgy party than a dance hall." Serena said, frowning. His grin widened. He looked too much like Darien. Serena shook her head, trying to clear her head and focus. "I'm here because I need help. I need to find the vampire that attacked me and everyone else."

Nikolai's face became closed, like someone had thrown a switch. One moment he was grinning, his eyes twinkling the same way Darien's did when he was amused, then it was cold, hard like marble. "I didn't think you would actually come alone to me for help."

"Neither did I, but its time for me to leave. I need the help."

"Why didn't you bring your friends?"

"They would be put in danger, and I don't want that." Serena said, trying to force her voice to be calm. It wasn't true, but she didn't want to tell Nikolai that she didn't want to come between Raye and Darien. It wasn't any more his business than hers.

He tilted his head to one side and stared at her. "We can smell when someone lies."

Serena felt her mouth fall open. She couldn't help it, she sniffed at herself wondering if she smelled different. "I'm not lying." She told him.

He chuckled. "Alright, we'll play it your way." He drew his legs from the desk and stood up. "What type of help did you want?"

"Backup. I want to go after the vampire."

"Do you know where he is?" Nikolai asked, his voice sounded interested, but his face was still blank.

"No, but I think that he will come after me again, tonight most likely, if I make myself available."

Something dark crossed Nikolai's face. "You want to use yourself as bait?"

Serena nodded. "Yeah. I think I know the road he attacked me on. I have Raye's jeep. I just need some of your people to follow behind, pretty close, if possible."

"Alright, let me get my coat and a couple of my people."

"You're coming?"

Nikolai looked at her. His face was still like marble, cold and unreadable, and so much like Darien's. For a moment, Serena thought he was going to come toward her, but he simply nodded and left the room. "Stay here, it will take me a moment."

* * *

Serena pulled out of the parking lot, Nikolai sitting next to her in the jeep. He sat casually in his seat, looking like a statue made of flesh. Serena wondered momentarily if his skin would be hard and cold if she touched it.

She forced herself to look away and concentrate on the road and where she was going. Her eyes were feeling gritty. She rubbed at them irritably.

"I don't know why you have to ride with me. It would be safer if you road with Syrese and Damin." Serena told him. "They may try to push me off the road like last time." She noticed movement in the corner of her eye as Nikolai turned in his seat. He drew a knee up to his chest and laid a cheek on it to watch her. "Put on a seatbelt."

"I am not worried about my safety, Princess, but yours."

"Put a seatbelt on, or I will stop the car." Serena growled.

There was an audible sigh before she heard the telltale click of the seatbelt. "If they do push you off the road I want to make sure you get away."

"Why?"

"Because, Princess, if the world found out one of my kind killed you, we would be hunted to the brink of extinction, again." Nikolai said. "I don't think that that would be good publicity."

Serena shut up. He was right. She sighed and drove in silence for a few minutes. "Why doesn't anyone know you exist?" She asked. "I mean, if you have to drink blood, preferably human blood, there would be note of that."

"If you notice your and Darien's bites, they look like a dog attack, or scrapes from branches. We have learned to hide the evidence of the attack. There are some, more powerful Strigoi, that can drink energy from others."

"Energy?"

"Yes, another form of the life force in humans, like emotions, or if a person is vested in a goal, their energy would peak at a point or another and the strong ones can feed on that."

"That sounds like the Negaverse." Serena said, she glanced in the rearview mirror to see only one pair of headlights following her. That would be the car in which Syrese, Damin, and several other vampires were in. Serena shivered slightly at the thought that she was actually having bloodsuckers at her back. She knew one of them would turn on her as quickly as attack the bad guys, and that was Syrese.

Syrese had made it abundantly clear that if Serena got killed in this plan, she would be the first one to rejoice about it.

"Tell me of this Negaverse. You have spoken of it before." Nikolai said, looking curious. Serena wondered if his curiosity was a mask, given the fact that he can make his face look blank like a statue, it probably was.

She found herself giving him details of all the attacks she had been through so far. Some of the things she told him, she had forgotten. He turned out to be a very interested listener, asking questions about Beryl, Diamond, and various others, including some of the creatures that Serena had fought. She found herself actually enjoying the talk, and began to feel comfortable with him.

She hadn't even realized that several cars had begun to follow them, or that she had pulled onto the road that Raye and she had been attacked on. But that changed when something nudged the jeep from behind, throwing Serena into the steering wheel and Nikolai into the dashboard.

Serena glanced in the rearview and counted three cars. One car should have been Syrese and Damin; the other two should have contained the bad guys. Serena slammed her foot on the gas petal, causing the jeep to leap forward.

Nikolai turned and stared out the back window. "I think this is where we stop." He said.

"No, not yet. We need a road away from this one, I don't want some civilians getting involved in this. And if a bunch of us pull off to the side of the road, someone might try to find out what's going on."

"Do you know this road?" Nikolai asked, turning toward Serena. Serena shook her head. "Well, we need to find one quickly. Their cars look to be faster than this one, they are gaining on us."

Serena glanced at the speedometer and saw that the needle was buried. "Shit." She spat. She returned her attention to the road in front of them, and saw to her surprise and relief a small dirt road to her left. She turned the steering wheel hard, felt the car slide and scream, and hit the brake. The car squealed for a second, swinging into the turn, then Serena slammed her foot on the gas again when the car had stopped enough to do so without throwing it on it's top.

The wheels screamed again as they tried to catch pavement, then finally getting traction, the car threw Serena and Nikolai down the dirt trail. Serena could barely hold onto the steering wheel as the road caused the jeep to bounce and sway. To keep her teeth from slamming together every few seconds, she clamped them closed, feeling them grind.

"Are they still behind us?"

"Yes, there are two, but I'm not sure which two they are." Nikolai ground out. Serena heard his head hit the top of the car. "Do you think you can slow down a little? I do not believe their cars are made for this. We don't want to lose them."

Serena frowned but tapped the brake until they slowed down enough that Serena didn't have to hold her mouth closed. "I'm beginning to think this is a bad idea."

"I agree." Nikolai stated, his voice was calm as if he was talking about the weather.

Serena finally spotted a clearing after several minutes on the bumpy dirt road, she pulled into it and killed the engine. "Show time." She said. Her voice sounded shaky to her own ears. "Wait here." She opened her door and stepped into the night.

Two cars pulled up next to hers. Only four people filed out of them, and with a sickened feeling, Serena recognized the little girl from the night that she had been attacked. She was a pretty little thing, no more than eight years old when she had been turned. She felt around three hundred and very strong. She raised her dark brown eyes to look at Serena, with a look that shouldn't have been on a child's face. The look said that the girl thought of Serena as a piece of meat, but there was something else in the look that Serena couldn't put a finger on, and probably didn't want to. The other three in the field with her were just as brown haired as the little girl. Two of them weren't very strong, one very young, as if she had just been turned; the other was older than the little girl, but the third felt ancient.

Serena gasped at the weight of at least a thousand years bearing down on her. She stared at the blond haired man. He looked like he was maybe nineteen, with short blond hair, which had been styled to look windswept. His face was clean-shaven, and sharply angular. He looked like an aristocrat from one of Serena's old school history books. He was dressed in a pair of khakis and a green long-sleeved turtleneck shirt. His eyes were a light lime green and seemed to pierce the darkness. Serena felt the pull of his eyes and turned to look at the last two vampires who had climbed from the cars.

The first was an older man, maybe turned when he was in his forties. He looked more aristocratic than the blond had. Gray streaks ran through his almost black hair at his temples. He wore a mustache, groomed into looking like the handlebar mustaches that Serena had seen in the United States. He wore a pinstriped suit and looked rather gangly, but she felt the strength come off of him in waves. The power that flowed through him was nowhere close to that of the little girl or the blond.

The second was a familiar-looking woman. She hadn't been turned for more than maybe a month. She had bright red hair, which was extremely curly. Serena's heart stopped, as she stared at the girl, who hadn't been more than her own age. The girl was achingly familiar, so familiar in fact that Serena couldn't believe it was the same person. The red-haired girl smiled at her, fang tips showing on her bottom lip.

"Hello, Serena." Molly said. "Nice to see you came back."


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

Serena's heart seemed permanently stuck in her throat, making it hard to breathe. The blond stepped around Molly and walked toward Serena. Serena took a step back, staring at her friend. It couldn't be Molly. Molly wouldn't let them turn her, Serena thought wildly.

Serena knew then that challenging the vampires on her own had been a bad idea. A very bad idea. She wished that she hadn't gotten so jealous over Raye and Darien. She tried to swallow her heart back where it belonged but it didn't seem to want to go.

"What have you done to her?" She asked, staring at Molly. Molly giggled. The blond glanced at her then turned back to Serena.

"She seems happy, does she not?" He asked, conversationally. Serena gaped at him.

"What?"

"Eternal youth await you. Come." He said, holding his hand out toward Serena.

"No way! You have been watching too many movies." Serena said as she stepped back again. The blond grinned.

"Maybe, I have. Or maybe the movies were based off of me."

"Oh." Serena said, becoming frustrated. "How egotistical of you." She shook her head. "Back up." She added when he moved toward her.

"I have no time for games, Serena. The sun is coming." Serena glanced at the false dawn in the sky and grinned.

"Too bad you wont be around to see it." She told him.

"Come, now." He demanded.

"How does bite me sound?" Serena said.

"I will." Serena froze. Oh, yeah, wonderful. Tell the vampire to bite me, offer myself. Great, the next thing I know I'll ask him to dinner. With me as the main course. Serena thought. She tried to hide her embarrassment, but felt her face grow hot. The blond laughed, a feeling of fingers caressing Serena's bared skin flowed with the laughter.

"Stop that."

"I am tired, girl. Come with us now, or we will make you."

"Try it." Serena said, grabbing the gun that she had grabbed from Lita's spare room before she left the palace. A shoulder holster came with it, sitting uncomfortably over her shoulders and angling the gun under her arm. It hadn't helped the drive over the bumps but it made her feel better just having it there, especially with Nikolai sitting next to her.

"We don't have time for her games, Korin." The little girl told the blond.

"Hush, Vanessa." The blond snapped back. Then to Serena, "What are you going to do with that?"

Serena felt a cold settle over her as she took aim at his knee. The feeling left her empty, she didn't feel anything. She had never shot a gun before, but at the moment, she wasn't worried. She pulled the trigger and watched as his knee splattered and he crumpled to the ground. Suddenly, the little girl was on top of Serena and they were flying through the air.

Then the girl was gone, and Nikolai was helping Serena to her feet. Molly charged at her. Nikolai stepped in the way and threw her over the cars. "We have to get out of here!" He growled at Serena as the second man charged.

Serena took aim at the man's head and pulled the trigger again. It jerked in her hands, and the man fell to the ground, headless. Serena felt blood splatter on her and cringed.

Molly was on her feet again, somehow getting past Nikolai and grabbing Serena's neck. She squeezed and screamed something. Serena felt the blood going to her brain slow, and couldn't breathe. She grabbed Molly's hand with her free one, and tried to pull it away. Spots were flaring in here eyes.

Molly screamed again, and this time dropped Serena and bolted toward where Korin had fallen. Serena struggled to her feet and saw that Syrese and the others had come; they had flung themselves at Vanessa, Korin, and Molly.

Serena stared as Syrese turned to face her, then a hand appeared through her chest, holding a beating heart. She crumpled to the ground as Korin jerked his hand back out of her chest. He strode toward Serena, anger plain on his face.

Serena found herself wondering where Nikolai had gone. Screams and shouts tore at the night air, as the area around Serena became soaked in blood. Thank god, its not human blood. Serena thought wildly.

Korin stopped directly in front of her, and she realized belatedly that she was still holding the gun. She started to raise it when he grabbed her and wrenched the gun from her hands. He forced her to meet his eyes.

The world ground to a standstill as she was enveloped in warmth. The sounds of the battle around her faded to a distant memory. She felt light, as if she was floating in the air above the ground. Arms wrapped around her pulling her into that green gaze. She was home. Safe. Like she had never been before. She rested her head on Korin's chest and took a deep breath. It felt so good to be held, away from everything, knowing that someone was sharing her thoughts, that she had no secrets, from anyone.

She realized that she could feel his thoughts as well. He was watching the battle around them, clutching at her. He felt sad as he saw, and Serena saw through his eyes, Vanessa, being ripped up by Jesse and Laryn. Molly was all that stood between him and the others, and she was barely standing.

Something flipped in Serena and she stepped back. She stared at Korin, her mind purposely blank. She spotted the gun on the ground and dove for it. She took aim before Korin could move, and shot his head off. He dropped to his knees as she felt her heart slow. She shot him again in the chest and watched as he fell backwards.

Molly's scream got Serena's attention, as darkness swept around Serena. Her breath was coming in short gasps. "Leave her alone!" Serena shrieked into the night. She forced herself painfully to her feet, but only managed to get a few feet before she collapsed.

She knew she was dying. She closed her eyes and welcomed the darkness.


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

* * *

_I've decided to keep a journal. I know the truth about the world around me. There are monsters under the bed. I don't know what my power was, when I fought off Nikolai and his thugs. I can't even describe it. There is something strange about me, but I guess I will learn about it sooner or later. I don't think this new war is over yet._

_The doctors are amazed that I survived. Anyway, I died, at least that's what the doctors told me. I was literally dead. For six minutes, from what they believe, they think I died on the way to the hospital. It turns out Nikolai kept me alive and took me to the hospital. He saved me, I guess. There is a new set of marks on my neck. I think Nikolai marked me. He told Amy, when she came to the hospital with the others that he did something that would save my life. But he didn't explain what. He did tell her however that I was pretty much Korin's servant. That is why I died, or almost died. Well, I did die. But anyway, he stayed at the hospital till dawn. Then came back the next night while I was unconscious. He's invited me to go on a date with him. Yeah, right. I can really see that happening._

_It turns out that Raye and Darien aren't together. Darien hadn't been able to sleep and Raye had heard him pacing. She was worried about him. She told me that when I had left she had tried to start something between him and her; she said she thought I was dead at the time. But he wouldn't let anything happen. I don't know if its true, but it gives me hope. _

_I've decided to stay here at the palace. I don't know why. Maybe to make sure that there are no more attacks or something. Or maybe because of Darien. I don't know how I feel about him anymore. I was ready to let him go to Raye if he wanted, I don't know if that means I love him enough to let him go, or if it means that I don't love him anymore. I think I do. Every time I see him, my heart starts a drum march. He is so gorgeous that its hard to be around him and not love him. I can understand why Raye tried. _

_Everyone has left me in peace. I think that they think I was trying to run away again. I guess in a sense I was. I wanted it over with. Oh well. I'm here now. _

_Molly is ok. Nikolai stopped Laryn and Jesse, the only one of his vampires to have survived the night, from killing her. She now works for him. I see her sometimes. But she tries to stay away from me. I think she's the one that paid the worst price for my betrayal. Because that is what it was. I betrayed everyone when I left. _

_But I wonder if everything would have been better if I had never come back or never left and I cant say that it would have. _

_Oh yeah, Lilly realized who I was, she wrote me a letter, she's coming for a visit. She's majorly freaked that I was the Princess. She doesn't know how she didn't see it. She'll be here next month. She says she needs to talk to me about something important though. I wonder what that's about. Guess I'll find out when she gets here._

_Serena._

* * *

_AN: LOL I have noticed that most of my readers have noticed that this story was rushed. smiles There is a small reason, and kinda a dumb one, which is why I am rewriting these stories, all of them, to expand all the characters and the plots. The reason I didn't seem to finish this story or any of the others correctly is because at the final chapter, which is still planned out, I came up with the next story line. Now most people would make a note of it, and then keep writing on the original story, and I would have, except that when I went back to the original story, I found that I could only think of the newest story. I still have the original ending plans, and plan on implementing those endings when rewriting. Book 1, _Silent Judgment,_ was not supposed to end here, there were supposed to be several more chapters. Book 2, _Cruel Visions,_ also wasn't supposed to end where it did, plus there were some facts in Book 2 that I had thought to leave out due to too much written on the story, and at first I thought they wouldn't fit in with the plot. After finishing book 2, I realized that those parts that I had left out were actually integral to the plot. All the stories that are being posted on are first drafts, the final drafts will be posted on my site. Shakes head As to the reason that it has taken me 2 years to rewrite Book 1, one reason is life, the other is due to research. Anyway, I hope people will understand, and YES your reviews are taken into consideration. If you point out something that you wont to learn more about, or have questions, I will do my best to answer and work on that part of the story. Though, I will tell you, as far as what happens between Darien, Raye, Serena, and Nikolai, I have no idea, none of the series have reached that point. But I will give you a hint, Book 4, _Dangerous Distractions_, will bring out the relationship between Darien, Serena, and Nikolai, or at least whispers complicate it a bit!_


End file.
